The Quarrels of Megumi and Edward
by Zesh
Summary: Edward Elric meets Megumi Ooumi on the street. How will he adapt to her abnormal lifestyle?
1. The Quarrel of Meeting

****

Disclaimer: I do not own Konjiki no Gash Bell, Zatch Bell, or Fullmetal Alchemist.

**Chapter One: The Quarrel of Meeting**

It was a dark, moonless night. The perfect time to go to the bakery.

Eleven year old Edward Elric threw himself through the window of the bakery. He crept as silently as he could through the store. His goal? To grab a soft, flavorful baguette.

This bakery—Pat's Bakery, to be exact—did have a pretty bad alarm system, so Ed leeched off of this bakery every chance he got. The only bad thing about the alarm system was that once it went off, the bakery and everything inside it became quite noticeable.

Ed picked the refrigerator's lock which held the baguettes. He opened the refrigerator and grabbed a long, relatively soft baguette. He closed the refrigerator and prepared himself to avoid alerting the police.

He was quite famous in this small town for stealing food and being able to escape the police. If he was found out this time, so many police would come, that there would be no guaranteeing his safe return to the alleys.

Ed turned around and almost took his first step, but he stubbed his big toe on the counter. He screamed, dropped to the ground, and rolled around in agony. This caused quite a commotion; Ed knocked over bottles, sugar, bread, flour…everything you can find in a bakery. The bakery was covered in white. This caused the alarm to go off. The bakery flashed in orange and red, and the alarm could be heard five blocks down, making it very noticeable. Ed cursed, forced himself off the ground, and sprinted towards the window.

* * *

Fourteen year old Megumi Ooumi looked out the window as she rode down the street in her manager's car, going home after a long, tiring concert. She was starting to droop off to sleep, so she sat up straight and kept herself alert so that she wouldn't not be able to sleep for tomorrow's long day.

You see, life for a teenage idol isn't all it's cracked up to be. Megumi has to go through bullying at school, mostly because the girls there think Megumi thinks that she's too good for them. The boys take pictures of her, abuse her, and try to touch her breasts and flip up her skirt in the hallway. Most of the time, Megumi is unable to stay for all of school because of her life as an idol: she has to go to voice recording, concerts, photo shoots, etc. And, at the end of her long day, she has to struggle with absentee homework. All her homework piles up from being absent too much. Finally, she practically collapses on her bed to rest up for the next busy day.

As Megumi rode past Pat's Bakery, she noticed red and orange lights flashing within it, everything covered in white, and its alarm blasting. She also noticed a short, young boy covered from head to toe in white with a white baguette in hand sprinting up to the window.

"Manager-san, stop the car!" she yelled.

The car instantly came to a stop. "What is it, Megumi-san?" he asked.

"I'll be back," she said as she opened the door and ran towards the boy.

* * *

Ed threw himself outside. He closed his eyes and took a moment to shake all the flour and sugar from his body. Then, he opened his eyes and brushed all the flour and sugar from his baguette. When he looked to the side of him, he saw someone running across the street towards him. He assumed it was a police officer, gripped the baguette tightly, and ran as fast as he could.

Ed looked back to see if the officer was still trailing him, but didn't see anybody. He ran even faster, just in case the officer was still trailing him, still looking back to reassure himself.

He collided with long legs. The impact was so hard, his baguette flew to the other side of the person. He released himself from the legs, rubbing his forehead. It was throbbing a bit, and he was slightly dizzy, but that wasn't enough to keep him from being mad at the person for foiling his escape. He looked up to see who he bumped into.

It was a tall, slightly curvy girl with long, brown hair and big, brown eyes. She stared down at him with serious eyes and her hands on her hips. She wore a green jacket with an orange shirt under it, and a short, red skirt. She practically resembled a model.

"You're pretty young to be out so late," she said. "What are you doing outside?"

"Who are you, and why are you in my way?" Ed said with an angry look on his face, but secretly admiring her tallness. He was pretty short for his age. Only four feet, eleven inches to be exact.

"Answer my question first."

Ed heard police sirens coming from behind.

"That's none of your business," Ed replied, trying to run past the girl. However, she somehow knew where he was going to step, because she followed his moves with freakish preciseness.

"How do you do that?" Ed asked.

"Girl instinct," the girl said, pointing to her forehead and winking, cocking her head a little.

Ed blushed.

* * *

The short boy with short, blonde hair, gold, serious eyes, and tattered black clothes stood in front of Megumi. He almost looked like Gash—same colored eyes, same colored hair, and similar height, but this boy was a lot more serious. His blush quickly turned into a scowl. This time, instead of trying to run past her, he pushed against her legs.

"Move…" he grunted. "I _really _need to get by…"

"Not until you give me answers!" Megumi said firmly.

A searing pain suddenly went through Megumi's right leg. She grabbed it, spreading out her legs. The boy used the opportunity to crawl through her. While he was crawling through her, Megumi saw the boy swiftly move his leg, but had no time to react. Before she knew it, she was on the ground, slightly trembling. She looked at her right leg. Blood seeped through the bite marks in it. She looked back and saw the boy turn into an alley with his stolen baguette in hand.

Megumi forced herself to get up. She ran into the alley, but unfortunately saw three pathways going north, east and west.

She ran down the west pathway first. It was a dead end with the boy nowhere in sight.

Next, she followed the east pathway. It ran back to the place where the boy collided with her.

Finally, Megumi walked down the north pathway. She heard frantic footsteps and took that to be those of the boy; she began to run. The boy eventually came into view. He turned around, saw Megumi, and started sprinting. However, Megumi's long legs were no match for the boy, and Megumi threw herself into him, rolling on the ground for a few seconds until pinning him down. The boy struggled to get himself loose, but Megumi was too strong for him. The boy eventually gave up, and Megumi felt him relax his muscles.

"What are you doing, being out so late?" Megumi asked again. "It's dangerous for a young, small boy like you to be out by yourself."

"Shortbread?! Who're you calling shortbread?!"

Before Megumi had a chance to say that she didn't call him shortbread, and that he had just focused on the word "small", the boy opened his mouth to bite her again, but Megumi said, "No you don't", waving her finger in front of him, like a tsk-tsk type of discipline, and winking again. "You don't want me to call the police and turn you in, do you?"

The boy blushed a little, then clenched his teeth, making his blush disappear. Megumi could tell that he was getting a little annoyed by her cheerfulness. He cringed and said: "I…was trying to get food to eat."

"Hm?" Megumi said, confused.

"I…don't have anybody or a place to go to, so…I stole this baguette"—he pointed to the baguette, still held firmly in his hand—"and was trying to find a safe place where the police couldn't find me to eat it, but then _you _came along and ruined it all… It was almost a successful escape."

"You haven't a place to go?"

"Please, let me go, so I can eat in peace."

"What's your name?"

"…Edward… Edward Elric. …Wait, why do you care? And why won't you leave me alone? Just…leave me be!" But despite these words, Ed made no attempt to get loose. Megumi assumed he didn't want to waste energy trying to fight a battle he obviously couldn't win.

Megumi wasn't the type of person to leave an unhappy, lonely person on the street. She didn't want to take him to an orphanage; he'd be _really_ unhappy then. So, she decided to take him with her—to live with her and Tio, the demon she found drowning in the ocean.

Now all that was left was to find a way to take Ed with her. If she tried to take him as is, he would probably escape, despite her threats. She assumed that Ed had probably escaped from a the police before. Megumi wasn't actually going to turn Ed in, anyway; she felt pretty bad for him. Megumi suddenly came up with an idea to get him to come with her.

"Don't worry… Everything will be O.K.," Megumi said with soothing eyes.

She turned Ed's head and kissed him on the cheek. She assumed it was a great kiss, because Ed's whole face turned red, and his face was frozen in a wide-eyed expression. It looked like Ed had lost consciousness, so she picked him up and carried him towards her manager's car so they could go home.

Her manager was still parked in the same spot he had stopped in when Megumi saw the bakery's alarm system going off.

"You sure were gone a long time," Megumi's manager said. "What were you out doing? And who's this little boy?"

"Oh, I wasn't doing anything much," Megumi said, plopping Ed into the seat across from her and securing his seat belt. "Just making a new friend."


	2. The Quarrel of Escaping

**Chapter Two: The Quarrel of Escaping**

Megumi and Edward arrived home after a couple minutes of riding. Ed was still unconscious, with the same look on his face he had when he was kissed. Megumi carried him inside and lay him in the guest room bed, tucking him in. Then, she turned off the light, and left to go get herself ready for bed.

* * *

Once Ed was positive the girl had left, he let out a long, heavy breath. He had started faking his unconsciousness and expression a couple minutes after being kissed, and had started thinking of a way to escape. Since Ed didn't have a decent way of transportation, such as skateboarding or bike riding, all he could do was run and hide during his escape. The window was perfect for getting out.

Unfortunately, the room was on the second floor, and Ed didn't have a rope. If he jumped down, not only would he break a couple of bones, but he would also make a noise, possibly waking the girl up. He couldn't take that chance.

He looked around for an object that could aid him in his escape. There were clothes in the drawers and closet. Ed opened the window, and took an hour or two tying them together and making sure they touched the ground. His rope was complete.

He tied his rope tightly around the bedpost. Once he made sure it was secure, he climbed out the window and slowly lowered himself down towards the ground. He felt his feet touch the ground, and mentally congratulated himself for making it out of the girl's house.

Even though he hadn't been there long, Ed knew that the girl's home would be worse than a prison cell: no freedom, just boringness. The main difference between a prison cell and living in someone's home was that you could get out of jail after a certain amount of time. However, Ed may have had stayed in the girl's home for way longer than whatever amount of time you spend in jail for repeatedly stealing.

Ed ran. He didn't stop until he was too tired to run. He was right in front of the park, where there were pretty tall trees past its fence. Ed ran across the park and jumped the fence. He searched for the tallest tree in the woods. Once he had found it, he climbed up, and sat on its tallest branch, which was still low enough that he was hidden in the trees. It was in the middle of a forest of trees, so he would be very hard to find.

Ed planned his escape route. He would take the alleyways, and avoid Pat's Bakery and any other place he had stolen from. He decided it would be best if he ran to a crowded city, like Tokyo. It would be too far away for the girl to find him, and he would always be hidden in a crowd of people. Once Ed had agreed upon that, he fell asleep on the tree's branch.

* * *

Megumi and Tio were fighting Kiyomaro and Gash in the battle to become Demon King. They were the only two remaining, and Tio's defensive spells were holding up well against Gash's electric spells and his muscle. It looked like they were about to win, when Kiyomaro said "Hold on a minute". He reached into his pocket and held up a clock. It rung. It rung so loud that Megumi woke up. She looked to the side of her, realizing that it was her alarm clock and the battle against Kiyomaro and Gash was just a dream. She wished it was real; she was so close to making Tio the queen of the Demon World. Her hand slowly reached out and turned her alarm clock off. It was the beginning of another busy day.

Megumi went to the guest room to check on Ed. Since it was the weekend, and it would be a while until she had to start working, she wanted to take him outside for a walk and to meet Kiyomaro, Gash, Hana, and Umagon. However, when she opened the bedroom door, she only saw an empty bed, the window open, and a rope of clothes tied to the bedpost, going through the window, leading to the ground outside.

She regretted not making Ed sleep in her room so she could prevent him from escaping. The way he acted when they first met, Megumi should've known better than to let Ed sleep alone.

Megumi went into Tio's room and woke her demon partner up. Megumi explained what had happened the night before and the trouble Ed would cause if he wasn't caught. Tio secretly couldn't have cared less, but she agreed to help only because she had nothing else to do.

"Why don't we ask Kiyomaro and Gash to help, too?" Tio proposed. She didn't want to be too bored looking for Ed, and she wanted a little energy while they were searching the town.

"That's exactly what we're going to do," Megumi replied.

They arrived at Kiyomaro's front porch. Umagon was sleeping in his miniature house. Megumi knocked on the door. After a few seconds, Kiyomaro opened the door.

"Oh, Megumi-san," Kiyomaro said, smiling and looking at Megumi. He looked at Tio next. "Tio."

"Hi, Kiyomaro," Tio said.

"Kiyomaro-kun," Megumi said, "can you and Gash help us look for someone named Ed?" She explained Ed and her meeting last night.

"Sure," Kiyomaro said. "What does he look like?"

"Kind of like Gash. You'll be able to point him out."

"Gash should help, too," Tio said.

So Kiyomaro went upstairs to get Gash. After a couple of minutes, a half asleep Gash wobbled down the stairs.

"Hi, Gash!" Tio said.

"Hi, Tio…" Gash said sleepily. He looked up at Megumi, with a determined, but still sleepy look on his face. "Don't worry, Megumi-dono… We'll find Ed…" Gash let out a long yawn.

So they set off. They had split up: Gash and Tio, and Megumi and Kiyomaro. Megumi had instructed Gash and Tio to look in the alleyways, since Megumi thought that was the area Ed was most accustomed to. Meanwhile, she and Kiyomaro were going to look around town for Ed, especially around places where he could steal from. When a pair found Ed, they would try to find the other pair in the area they were assigned to. Afterwards, the group would return to Kiyomaro's house.

Gash and Tio hadn't looked for ten minutes when they saw a boy who looked practically like Gash.

* * *

Ed heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw a girl with pinkish-reddish hair and red eyes and a boy with blond hair and golden eyes. The first thing Ed thought of was how much the boy looked like him; the only difference was that he looked a lot more frivolous than Ed.

"Are you the boy named Ed?" the boy asked.

_Great… The tall girl's after me again. _Ed thought. "No, it's…Edan."

"Oh, okay," the boy said. "Never mind, then. Sorry for bothering you." He turned around and began to walk away, but the girl caught him by the collar of his clothes.

They began whispering, not looking at Ed. Ed took this as his chance to escape. He began running down another pathway, but it wasn't long until the boy and girl had caught on and started running after him at full speed. Suddenly, Ed found himself being suffocated by something. He looked down and saw the girl with her hands wrapped around his neck, strangling him. It was so bad, Ed couldn't even cough.

"Tio…" the boy said. "I don't think you should be strangling him like that…"

"Shut up!" the girl yelled back. "I know what I'm doing!"

Ed couldn't breathe. He knew he had turned blue by now. He thought, _I just need to sleep for a while, then everything will be back to normal…_ Everything went black.

* * *

Tio looked at Ed and saw that he was unconscious. She released her hands from his neck, and Gash took him and carried Ed on his back. They made their way towards the town. Hopefully it wouldn't take up a long time looking for Megumi and Kiyomaro, because Ed could wake up and cause more trouble for Gash and Tio.

"Megumi-dono said Ed tried robbing a place named Pat's Bakery," Gash said.

"So?" Tio replied. "What's your point?"

"Kiyomaro and Megumi-dono could be there."

So Gash and Tio went to the bakery. Unfortunately, Kiyomaro and Megumi were nowhere in sight. Gash and Tio left the bakery and continued to search the town.

* * *

Kiyomaro and Megumi were at the park, looking for Ed. They heard something rustle behind them.

"Did you hear something?" Megumi asked.

"Yeah. It came from behind." Kiyomaro turned around. There was a bush behind them, but it didn't move.

Kiyomaro and Megumi heard running beside them where the trees were.

"Ed-kun?" Megumi said. "Are you there?"

No response. Just running.

Rooper and Papipurio emerged from the trees, both leaping over the fence.

"We meet again," Papipurio said. He looked at Rooper. "Looks like their demons are gone, Rooper."

"The perfect time to attack and burn their books," Rooper said, pulling out her book.

_Damn… _Kiyomaro thought. _At a time like this?_

* * *

"Dareido!"

"Did you hear that, Gash?" Tio asked.

"Hear what?"

"I…think I heard a spell."

"Where did it come from?"

"Over where the park is."

"Let's go!" Gash said, running towards the park. Tio followed.

When Gash and Tio arrived at the park, Megumi was stuck in a glue-like substance, with a bleeding Kiyomaro with tattered clothes was trying to protect her from Rooper and Papipurio.

"Damn it," Papipurio said. "Their demons found them. Now what?"

"We run, that's what." Rooper replied. "Remember what happened last time?"

Papipurio briefly recalled what happened at the amusement park. "Oh yeah. It's almost guaranteed that they got stronger."

"Megumi!" Tio yelled, running over to Megumi and trying to pull her out of the glue-like substance.

Gash hid Ed behind a bush. "Kiyomaro, spell!" He looked at Papipurio.

Kiyomaro pulled out his book and flipped pages.

"Rooper!" Papipurio said.

"Mokerudo!"

"Zakeruga!"

A wall of smoke engulfed the playground. Lightning shot out of Gash's mouth. All Tio, Gash, Megumi and KIyomaro saw was the lightning disappear in the smoke. When the smoke cleared, Rooper and Papipurio were gone.

"Just like last time," Kiyomaro said.

"It's okay," Megumi said. "We'll worry about them later. Did you find Ed-kun?" She looked down at Tio, who was still trying to pull Megumi out of the glue, then at Gash, who stood beside a bush behind her.

"Yep!" Gash said, dragging the unconscious Ed out from behind the bush.

"Good job." The glue under Megumi's feet disappeared.

* * *

Ed opened his eyes. Above him was the boy he saw in the alley. He looked around. There was the tall girl, the girl he saw in the alleys, and another freakishly tall person. It was a boy with brownish-blackish hair and brown eyes. There was a fence behind Ed, and a sandbox in front of the tall boy.

Ed pushed himself off the ground. "Now what's happened?"

"Before we explain that," the tall girl started, "let's introduce ourselves. Since I never said so when I first met you, I'm Megumi Ooumi, an idol."

"Tio," the girl with reddish hair said.

"I'm Gash Bell," the blond boy said. "Nice to meet you. I hope we can be friends."

"I'm Kiyomaro Takamine," the tall boy said.

"Do I have to introduce myself?" Ed said, rolling his eyes. _Because I won't be here very long._

"No, we all know your name," Megumi said. "Unless you want to give us a little background info."

"Nope, I'm not about nothing."

"Okay, then." Megumi explained what had happened while he was unconscious.

Ed nodded, but he didn't understand the thing with the books and partners and battling. He didn't care, either, since he was going to be gone soon.

"So, we'll all head to Kiyomaro-kun's house for lunch," Megumi decided.

The group turned and was walking out of the park, when they were stopped by someone saying "Gash".

Everyone turned around. It was a freaky little girl in a car, with her ponytails sticking up, and her mouth like a monster's.

"N-Naomi-chan?" Gash said. "What is it?" Ed noticed that Gash was trembling.

"Gash's girlfriend?" Ed asked. He had noticed on the streets that girlfriends always scared their boyfriends a little.

"I hope not," Tio said. She had her head down, her hands in fists, giving out an aura of anger.

"Did you forget about our showdown today?" Naomi said. "You know, the one to determine Park King or Queen? It was supposed to be at noon, which is now."

"Gash…" Kiyomaro said, glaring at Gash. "_Did_ you forget?"

Gash just stood there with a terrified look on his face.

"Well, why don't you just settle this quickly, okay?" Kiyomaro said, giving Gash a little nudge.

"B-But…" Gash stammered.

While everyone was distracted on how to work this out, Ed tiptoed away, only to be pulled back by Megumi.

"Don't even try it," she said. "I'm _always _watching you."

"God, you're annoying," Ed said, crossing his arms.

"Okay, Gash," Naomi said. "Ready?"

"Not really."

Naomi started pedaling her car, and Gash started running. Everyone just stood where they were and watched. Ed chuckled. It was quite funny, seeing Gash being chased like that. Gash tripped and fell, and got ran over by Naomi's car. Naomi kept going, turned around and chuckled, twisting her mouth in a weird, maniacal smile, and then pedaled her car further down the park.

"She's Park Queen…" Gash said, sobbing. "And it hurt when she ran me over…"

Tio latched onto Gash and strangled him by the neck. "Gash… WHO was THAT?!"

"Tio…" Gash managed to say. "Please…"

"Tio…!" Megumi said, about to try and stop Tio. But before she could take a step, Ed escaped her grasp and ran over to the struggling duo, trying to pull Tio off of Gash.

"He just got ran over, and then you _strangle _him?!" Ed said, trying to pull Tio off of Gash.

Tio grabbed Ed and started neck-strangling him. "Don't meddle in things that aren't your business!"

"Now _you…_are the devil…" Ed made out.

Megumi managed to pull Tio off of Ed. Ed and Gash both rubbed their necks. After Megumi briefly scolded Tio, they all went to Kiyomaro's house. Near the front porch there was…what looked like…a miniature horse in a doghouse. Ed stopped and stared at it while Kiyomaro opened the door.

"Now what's _this?_" Ed said.

"Meru-meru…" the horse said, looking angry.

"That's Umagon," Gash explained. "He's a demon, like Tio and I."

"A demon? He sure doesn't look like one, and neither do Tio and you." _Tio acts like one, though._

The horse didn't look too happy.

"Well, not all of us do," Gash said. "I'll explain it all when we get inside, so it'll make sense what happened at the park today. Come on, Umagon!"

Gash started inside. Umagon jumped up happily, but hit his head on the roof of the doghouse, his eyes popping out, and fell down, a bump growing on his head. Ed laughed a little.

Kiyomaro's mother, Hana, made lunch for them. Megumi and Tio helped make lunch as well.

Gash explained something about a battle to determine Demon King, who is the king of the Demon World. The Demon World was a place where demons lived, and there was a king or queen who headed the world. Demons try to team up with human beings. When the right human is chosen, the demon will know it when the human can read their spell book. Then, the human and demon fight many battles against other one hundred other demons to become Demon King.

"The demon should be with the human at all times," Gash said. "They never know when they could get attacked, ruining their chances for becoming Demon King."

"Tio would make a good Demon Queen," Ed joked to Gash. "She's the devil already."

It's a good thing Gash didn't laugh, because if he did, he would've gotten strangled too. After a long struggle, Megumi pried Tio off from Ed. Ed decided not to try and piss Tio off from then on.

After Megumi finished her lunch, she looked at her watch. Tio saw this, and quickly gulped the rest of her lunch.

"Well, I have to go to work now," Megumi said, getting up. Tio scrambled beside her.

_Work?_ Ed thought.

"Ed, why don't you sleep over with Gash and Umagon tonight?" Megumi suggested. "You two can get to know each other better."

"Uh…sure… I guess," Ed said.

Megumi got between Gash and Umagon, leaving Tio standing where she was, and whispered in their ears. They nodded, and Megumi whispered something to Kiyomaro and Hana as well. After she finished, Megumi started for the door. Everyone said their goodbyes, and Megumi and Tio left.

After Megumi closed the door behind her, Ed said, "Thank God she's gone."

"Why?" Gash asked. "What's wrong?"

"She's gonna confine me to her house, and I'll be absolutely bored in there."

"Well, if you're gonna be bored there, come over here and play with me and Umagon. We'll almost always be here."

Ed wasn't even going to take that into consideration since he was going to leave soon, anyway.

"Come on, let's go play," Gash said, running out of the kitchen. Ed and Umagon followed him, leaving Kiyomaro and Hana alone.

"What did she say to you?" Ed asked on the way to Kiyomaro's room.

"Who, Megumi?" Gash said. "Oh, she just said to keep a close watch on you."

"Meru-meru-me!" Umagon nodded.

"Ah, how annoying," Ed said, rolling his eyes.

"This is Vulcan 300," Gash said after they had gotten in Kiyomaro's room. He was holding up a decorated Pocky box, with drawn teeth, and a "mouth" that could open and close. "You can be the villain along with Umagon."

_Villain? _Ed thought._ What's he talking about?_

Gash got blocks out from under the bed. "Help me make a city of blocks."

So Ed helped Gash stack the blocks up, making a "city". Umagon sadly watched because he had no opposable thumbs. Ed wanted to fix that.

"It's a normal day in Tokyo," Gash narrated. "Everyone is minding their own business, going to work, enjoying time with their families. But none of them know of the disaster that's about to unfold."

Umagon's hoof tore down a "building". Ed followed suit, destroying a "building" with his arm, sitting it next to Umagon's hoof. They both made growling sounds.

"Oh, no!" Gash said in a woman's voice. "It the hoof and hand duo! Run for your lives!"

Gash made screaming noises and running noises with his fingers. He picked up Vulcan and heroically swooped him down in front of the hoof and hand.

"It's Vulcan 300!" Gash said in a deep, manly voice. "He'll save us!" He switched to a heroic voice. "Begone, evildoers!"

Vulcan bit the hand. The hoof butted him away. The hand stomped on Vulcan, leaving the hero looking beat. Vulcan pushed Ed's hand off of it, then headbutted the hand away. The hand crashed into the hoof, and they flew away into the sky.

"And the day is saved, all thanks to Vulcan 300!" Gash narrated. He cheered in squeaky voices to represent the citizens cheering for Vulcan. "The end!"

Ed felt a little warm on the inside. He had had fun playing the role-playing game with Umagon and Gash. He was anxious to do something else with them. It was like they could even the most boring situation fun.

Gash, Ed and Umagon walked around town, visiting different places, but avoiding the park because Gash was afraid Naomi would attack him. Gash and Umagon showed Ed the library, places to eat (steal, in Ed's book), and different stores. Before they knew it, it was night, and time to go back to Kiyomaro's house to go to bed.

When they were side by side in the guest room, snug in their sleeping bags, with Umagon sound asleep, Ed said, "I had a lot of fun today. Why don't we hang out tomorrow?"

Ed couldn't believe he had just said that.

"Sure!" Gash said. "We'll have lots of fun together!"

"Yup." Ed smiled. He realized that he might enjoy his stay with these people. He didn't know whether to escape, or stay. He wouldn't mind staying with Gash and Umagon. Megumi and Tio were the only people that annoyed him. But maybe he could get accustomed to them, too, just like he conformed to Gash and Umagon's playful habits.

Ed decided to spend another day to see if he would stay or leave.


	3. The Quarrel of Bonding

**Chapter Three: The Quarrel of Bonding**

Ed woke up and looked around. Umagon was still asleep, laying on his side with his back to Ed. Gash's sleeping bag was empty. The sun was barely visible over the hills outside Kiyomaro's house.

Ed left the room to go find Gash; he needed Gash to help him with something. First, Ed would do something for Gash. Then, he would coax Gash into helping him with something.

Ed opened the door to Kiyomaro's room and went inside. Sure enough, Gash was in the room sitting on the ground in front of the television. He had an excited expression on his face: his eyes were glowing, and a wide smile was spread across his face. Kiyomaro faced the wall, asleep.

Ed sat down next to Gash, but Gash took no notice to him.

On the T.V., there was a man in his thirties inside a praying mantis costume.

"When's this over?" Ed asked.

"In ten minutes," Gash said without changing his expression or looking at Ed.

So Ed watched the remaining ten minutes of the praying mantis with Gash. The praying mantis defended innocent citizens from things like mummies and wild animals. After he had defeated the mummies and wild animals, he said, "Justice will always prevail!"

"Oh… That was so cool!" Gash exclaimed, his eyes glowing brighter. "Kamakiri Joe is so cool!"

"This is over, right?" Ed said, not the least impressed by the praying mantis's performance.

"Yep!"

Ed grabbed Gash's wrist and pulled him out of Kiyomaro's room. He dragged Gash down the stairs. "We're going to Megumi's house."

"Why? And what about Umagon?"

"Umagon's still asleep, and I only need you for this. I'm going to teach you how to avoid Tio's neck strangles."

"That means…we have to make her mad, right…?" Gash gulped. Ed felt him start trembling.

"Yeah. I have a surefire way of making you avoid her strangles. Don't worry, you won't get hurt." Ed opened the front door. Gash closed the door once he was out. "You know where Megumi's house and Tio's room is, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Good."

Gash led the way to Megumi's house. Five minutes later, they arrived at the small home. Gash tried the door, but it was locked.

"Now how do we get in?" Gash asked.

"Where's Tio's bedroom window?"

Gash pointed to it. It was to the left of Ed, beside the front door. Ed peeked inside. Tio was laying on her back, staring at the ceiling on the other side of where Ed and Gash were standing. She was in light blue pajamas, and she didn't appear to be sleepy at all. She looked deep in thought.

Ed carefully opened the window. He quietly climbed inside, then gestured to Gash, putting his index finger to his lips. He gingerly helped Gash through the window.

"Hi, Tio," Ed said.

Tio turned abruptly around. "E-Ed? Gash?" She got up and walked over to them. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Oh, nothing," Ed said. "Just bored, so we thought we'd come and see if you were doing anything."

"Didn't you say you were teaching me to av—" Gash started, but Ed cupped his hand over Gash's mouth to silence him.

"You're teaching Gash to do what?" Tio got a look of suspicion in her eyes.

"Nothing," Ed said. He looked curiously at the wall behind Tio. "What's that on the wall…?"

"What's what on the wall?" Tio turned her whole body to look at the wall. Ed reached down her pajama pants, grabbed her panties, and pulled them up over her eyes.

"Hey, what going on?!" Tio ran around in circles, then realized what had happened to her. "Ed… Gash…" She tried to guess where Ed and Gash were, but ended up repeatedly running into the wall. Ed rolled on the floor in laughter. Gash tried to suppress his laughter, but it ended up bursting out.

Tio pulled her panties off from over her head and stuffed them back in her pants. She looked at Ed and Gash with devilish eyes, then charged at them with her hands in strangling position, ready to wring them out. Ed pushed himself off the ground and grabbed a terrified Gash's wrist. Ed pulled him up the stairs, Tio running closely behind. Once at the guest room's doorway, Ed threw Gash into the room and closed the door. He heard Tio slam into it and locked the door. Tio tried the doorknob. She found out that it was locked and began banging her hands on the door, screaming.

"And that's how you avoid Tio's neck strangles," Ed said to Gash, who was laying facedown on the bed. "Just run away from her, go into an open room, close and lock the door." Ed thought for a moment. "Why haven't you run away from her when you know you're going to be strangled?"

Gash turned over on his back. "Well, I usually don't know she's about to strangle me. And she latches onto me so quickly…"

"When you say something that sounds insulting, run away to someplace where she can't reach you, like...the men's bathroom."

"But...she's too fast…"

"Don't worry, just follow my advice."

"O-Okay…" Gash said shakily.

"She should stop soon due to fatigue." Ed flopped down on the bed next to Gash and observed the room. It was exactly how he had left it: the rope of clothes was still tied to the bedpost, and the window was still open.

Tio's banging and hollering suddenly stopped.

"What…?" Ed said, confused. "She shouldn't have stopped _that_ quickly…"

"What's going on, Tio?" It was Megumi's voice.

"Ed and Gash..." Tio growled.

"Ah, crap." Ed flinched.

"You did this while Megumi-dono was here?!" Gash started shaking again.

"Sorry. I should've known she would wake up."

There was knocking on the door. "Ed-kun, Gash-kun." It was Megumi again. "Open the door."

Ed and Gash didn't move or make a sound.

"Fine, then. I'll find another way to come in." Ed heard fading footsteps.

Gash was shaking the whole bed now. Ed was frozen, staring at the ceiling. He heard something being pulled and awkward footsteps. Nothing Ed could normally move would move, so he couldn't look at where the sound was coming from. Before he knew it, Megumi was above him, looking directly in his eyes, with those same, big, serious, brown eyes that she had when he met her.

Ed could move his pupils now. He saw that she was in her pajamas. It was yellow with red hearts on them.

"What did you do to Tio?" she asked.

Ed couldn't answer, so Gash did for him. "We… Ed… I…" he said, hiccupping. Megumi was looking at him now. "Ed was…hic...teaching me how to…av...hic...av...hic...oid…Tio's strangles…hic... And we…snuck in...hic...to…hic... Ed… Ed…gave Tio an atomic wedgie, and...hic...she couldn't see… And then…we ran he...hic..here…"

When Gash looked like he had finished, Megumi looked in Ed's eyes again.

"So _you _were behind it all," Megumi said. "I should've known."

Ed found himself being able to open his mouth, but he couldn't talk.

Megumi walked over to the door, unlocked it, and opened the door. Tio came in like the Tasmanian devil from Looney Tunes, but Megumi kept her from reaching the bed by reaching out with one of her long legs, keeping her balance by leaning on the wall with her left hand. Tio smacked into Megumi's leg.

"Talk it over," Megumi said. She picked Tio up, lowered her leg to the ground, and plopped Tio on the bed between Gash and Ed. She sat down next to Ed. "You know…bond."

Ed, Gash and Tio stared at her.

"Talk about your likes and dislikes," Megumi explained. "Talk about your goals and inspirations. You go first, Gash-kun."

Gash sat up, a smile spreading across his face. His eyes glowed again. "I love watching Kamakiri Joe, and I like playing with Vulcan and all my friends." Gash's face got very serious. "And…I want to be a kind ruler of the Demon World, so we won't have to battle anymore."

"Tio," Megumi said.

"I like meeting people," Tio said, "and making friends with them."

"That's it?"

"Yep."

"Okay. Ed-kun."

"Uh…" Ed didn't know what to say. Since he had spent so much of his time on the streets, he really didn't have much to talk about except him stealing. "I like to steal."

"Ed-kun!"

"What? Like I said before, I'm not about nothing."

Megumi looked at him with her serious eyes again.

"But if you _really _want me to answer seriously, then… Um... I like things like cars and motorcycles. I remember my dad teaching me how to skateboard, so I guess I like to skateboard, too."

"Okay." Megumi got up and walked towards the bathroom.

"Wait!" Ed said. "You never told us what your likes and dislikes and inspirations and stuff were!"

Megumi turned her head and looked directly in Ed's eyes. "I want to be normal."

Ed watched as she went in the bathroom and closed the door. He heard water being run.

"What's with her?" Ed asked.

"She has a busy life," Tio said. She had calmed down since their "bonding" time. "See, she has to—"

"I'll find out for myself." Ed looked at Gash. "That's where you come in, Gash."

Gash looked at Ed innocently.

* * *

Megumi picked up her bag, which was loaded with her books the night before. It was a little heavier than usual. She went outside to her manager's car. Once she had settled herself, she looked out the window and thought about what had happened earlier that morning. She wondered why Ed had "taught Gash how to avoid Tio's neck strangles". It wasn't like him.

Soon, she arrived at school. She opened the door to leave.

"I'll be back to pick you up at…" Her manager looked down at his watch. "…ten today," he finished.

"Okay, thank you, Manager-san," Megumi said, leaving the car.

The courtyard was empty. She was a little late. She had slept in because she got home later than usual from a concert and forgot to set her alarm clock. She woke up only because of Tio's banging and screaming.

She made it to her first class seconds before the late bell. She quickly took her seat.

The teacher was explaining something called the Pythagorean Theorem. It was geometry, and Megumi didn't quite understand it, so she paid close attention. If she still didn't understand it, she would get Kiyomaro, a genius with an I.Q. of 180, or Sunbeam, an engineer, to help her.

She heard a bouncing sound. She looked at her bag, and saw its hole pointed towards her.

"Yo, Megumi!"

"Ed-kun?! What're you doing here?" Megumi was pretty surprised.

"You never told me what your life are like, so I came to observe. I told Gash that I wanted to come with you to see what your days were like. Gash said that he fits in Kiyomaro's bag to go to school with him, so he taught me how to fit in a bag as thanks for teaching him how to avoid Tio's strangles. We need to get to know each other better, anyway."

"You could've just _asked _me."

"I like to observe. You know, the hands-on approach."

"But I'm in class right now!"

"Don't worry, I won't bother you much."

"Ed-kun, you—"

"Megumi."

Megumi looked up. It was her teacher.

"Do you mind telling the class who you're talking to?"

Megumi stared at him. She felt her face turning red and sweat running down her forehead at the same time.

"Well, just pay attention."

The class laughed. Megumi heard whispering about her, such as "She was talking to her _bag", _and "I know. That just _confirms _she's a weirdo."

Megumi looked down at her desk, then at her bag. "Ed-kun, you got me in trouble, and embarrassed me! The whole class thinks I'm weird now!"

"What, they didn't before?"

Megumi glared at the bag.

"Megumi…"

Megumi looked up. It was her teacher again.

"What's the name of this formula?" He pointed at something written on the board.

Megumi squinted her eyes. The formula read: _a squared plus b squared equals c squared. _

"Um…" Megumi thought for a minute. "Py… Pytha… Pythagorean Theorem."

"Ah, so you were paying attention after all," her teacher said. "I thought you were talking to your bag."

The class laughed again. Megumi blushed and looked down. Ed was quiet after that.

The bell rang, and everyone scrambled out the door. Megumi calmly picked up her bag and went into the hallway. As she was walking to her next class, some of her classmates from her last class caught up to her and walked alongside her.

"Hey, Megumi-san, nice blunder there," one of the girls said, nudging her.

"Yeah, that was pretty funny," another girl said. "Weird how you were talking to your bag though… Was it an imaginary friend?"

The girls laughed and left Megumi standing there, looking at the floor. As the clique walked away, she saw Ed stick out his middle finger at them from out of her bag's hole. Megumi quickly stuffed his hand back inside her bag.

A passing boy flipped up her skirt. Megumi blushed out of embarrassment and pulled her skirt back down.

"Wow! Guys, did you see that? That was sexy!" the boy who flipped up Megumi's skirt said.

"Yeah, that was hot!" another boy answered.

Ed must've seen her panties, because he grunted a little.

"Don't peek!" Megumi scolded, still blushing.

She looked at her watch. It was almost time for second period to begin. She ran into the class and slid into her seat, her blush disappearing.

When the teacher started lecturing, Megumi heard snoring inside her bag. She kicked her bag, making it fall.

"Ouch..." Ed grunted, awake now. A couple heads turned around. Megumi quickly picked her bag back up and looked at the teacher (who didn't hear the snoring, thud, and grunting and was still lecturing) like she hadn't done anything.

Megumi paid attention and took notes for the rest of class. When the bell rang, everyone dragged out of the door. She looked at her watch and saw it was past ten. She gathered her things and rushed to the courtyard. She opened the door to her manager's car, and got settled in the back seat.

Megumi was scheduled for a photo shoot. She arrived and walked into the dressing room. She sat her bag on an empty chair and changed into her green, puffy dress. She left the dressing room and posed as though she were singing. After a couple photos, she ran back inside the dressing room and began changing again, this time in a bikini.

"What are you doing?" Ed asked.

"I'm posing for a photo shoot," Megumi replied. "Next is some recording, and then I have a concert."

She turned around, looking back to make sure her back was to Ed, and slipped out of her dress. She pulled down her panties.

"Mmm…" Ed grunted.

"Stop that, you pervert!"

"Hehe… It's just so hard to resist…"

Megumi pulled up the bottom half of her bikini, then walked over to her bag and pushed it over. It fell hard on the floor.

"Ow…" Ed said. Then, after a pause, he said, "Hey, do you get copies of your photos?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Well, since you're changing into a bikini now…"

Megumi narrowed her eyes, realizing that Ed was just as much of a pervert as Folgore.

"Okay, okay. How long will this all take?"

"It depends. I usually get finished working at midnight. We'll go back home and pick up Tio so she can come with me to my concert."

"Why do you need to bring her? It's just a concert. Or does she enjoy your concerts and like to come to every one of them?"

"Yes, she does enjoy my concerts. But I'm not bringing her just for her entertainment. You never know when you could be attacked by a demon. A demon attacked us at a concert once before. In fact, that's how we met Kiyomaro-kun and Gash-kun." Megumi turned around, her back to her bag, and took her bra off. Then she changed into the top half of her bikini.

"What happened during that concert?"

Their conversation was interrupted by knocking at the door."Megumi-chan!" It was one of photographers. "Are you okay? You've been in there for a long time."

"Yes, I'm on my way!" Megumi replied. She looked at her bag. "Look Ed-kun, I've got to go do some more posing. This is my last wave, so I'll be back in a couple of minutes. I'll explain the whole concert thing later."

And with that, Megumi opened the door and ran out, leaving Ed alone in her bag.

_So that's life as an idol… _Ed thought. Since he had nothing else to think about, he thought about Megumi stripping herself. He blushed the whole time he thought about it.

* * *

Ed heard the door open. Megumi had gotten back.

This time, Ed didn't peek as Megumi changed, as he'd already seen enough and was satisfied. He felt himself being lifted up. He was swinging.

"So, now's the recording?" Ed asked.

"Yes," Megumi confirmed. "It'll take a couple of hours."

"_Hours_…?" Ed could've fainted right then and there.

A door was opened and closed.

"It'll be fine. I'll leave you someplace where you can hear what I sing like."

Ed heard a door being opened, felt himself being slid, and heard a door being closed. After a few moments, he felt himself being moved forward, falling against a cushion. After a while, he felt something come to a sudden stop. He got flipped over on the ground. He was lifted once again. He heard a door open, then close. Megumi was swinging the bag around as she walked. The swinging slowly came to a stop. Ed heard voices.

"Do you mind if I leave my bag with you?" Megumi asked.

"No, not at all," a man replied.

The bag was gently placed on the ground. Moments later, he heard singing. Ed listened closely. It sounded a bit like Megumi. Her voice was so soothing...

Ed's head started drooping, and his eyes were closing. He struggled to keep himself awake. He knew he snored, and the man that he was next to would become suspicious if he started snoring. He sat up, opened his eyes, kept his head up, and stayed alert. But sleep was inviting him to comfort and dreams. It was irresistible.

Ed fell asleep. He woke back up after a few minutes, thinking that he had snored, but he wasn't out of the bag and the singing was uninterrupted. Ed picked up one of Megumi's books and sat on it so he would stay awake.

He managed to stay awake for the rest of the recording session, thinking about what he would do with Gash and Umagon when he went to Kiyomaro's house the next day. They would probably play with Vulcan and go to the park to meet up with Naomi.

"Naomi-chan and I have another duel tomorrow," Gash said that morning while Ed settled into Megumi's bag.

Ed was lifted up, snapping him back to reality. Did he really think that long?

"We're going home now to pick up Tio," Megumi said. "I'll let you out of my bag, too."

"Thanks..." Ed said sleepily. And he fell asleep.

When he woke up, he was still in the bag, being swung around. Hopefully, he hadn't snored. He was placed down, and the bag was opened. Ed pushed all his weight on one side of the bag and made it fall. He crawled out of it and sat on his knees.

"Did I snore?" he asked.

"Yeah, but it wasn't that bad." Megumi said. "My manager wasn't able to hear it."

"Do we leave right now for your concert?"

"Yes. I'm going to get Tio." She went into the bedroom to the left side of her.

* * *

Tio was laying on her back, asleep.

"Tio…" Megumi poked her.

"Mmm…" Tio rubbed her eyes and opened them a little. "Yeah, I'm up."

Megumi was a few inches outside of the door when she heard something fall. She looked back and saw Tio laying flat on her face on the ground.

"Are you okay?"

Tio lifted her head. "Yeah, just sleepy."

Ed was sitting on the stairs, his hands holding his head. He looked at Tio and Megumi and got up, walking to the door. He opened the door, and they all walked outside, Ed coming out last. He closed and locked the house door, then he ran ahead of the girls, opening the car door, letting the girls in first, with a "thanks" from both of them. Ed squished in with them.

On the way there, Tio fell asleep in Megumi's lap. Ed became sleepy again and fell asleep with his head against the window.

Once they had arrived at the concert hall, Megumi nudged Tio. Tio pushed herself off of Megumi's lap, then woke Ed up. Ed shook himself fully awake and opened the door. They all got out on his side. Ed waited until the two girls were out, then closed the door.

"And how long will this take?" Ed asked.

"This will take a couple of hours as well," Megumi answered.

"Oh my God."

Tio gave him a reassuring look. "Don't worry, it's not too bad."

Ed kicked a rock. It bounced into a bush planted next to a tree.

* * *

Tio and Ed sat on the steps leading to the stage while Megumi changed into her green dress. Ed was rubbing his finger on the ground like he was drawing. Tio stared at the wall. Ed saw Megumi walk past them out of the corner of his eye.

He decided to try and stay awake for this. He hadn't really heard Megumi sing; he had spaced out for almost the whole time at the recording studio.

"Hello, everybody!" Megumi sounded very happy. It was like she was the one attending the concert. "Thank you all for coming to my concert!"

The crowd cheered in response. She waited for them to quiet down, then she named the songs she was going to sing for them. They were _Happy Tomorrow, Watashi no Yume, _and _Hikari no Prism._

Ed listened to the meanings of her songs more than her voice. They were about normal life, and how people could overcome the struggles and stress of everyday problems.

"Thank you! Good night!" A couple seconds after she had said that, Ed saw Megumi sit next to him on the stairs. She sighed, then smiled and looked at him. "What did you think about my songs, Ed-kun?"

Ed blushed. He felt Tio's eyes on him. His blush disappeared, and his face got serious. "I thought…they were gay."

That pissed Tio off more than Megumi. Ed sensed Tio's hand reaching for his neck. He just barely dodged Tio's grasp and ran towards the door. Ed was almost out of the door when Megumi pulled the collar of his shirt. She bent down and turned Ed so his head was leveled with hers. Her eyes were hardened.

"Ed-kun..." She smiled and cocked her head. "Why don't you try being positive for a change?"

Ed blushed again and looked at the floor. He was trying to get Megumi to actually become angry, but it hadn't worked. She was just too cheerful.

She released Ed, stood up and went into the dressing room to change.

"Were you just trying to stir things up?" Tio asked, calmed down.

_She sure can calm down pretty quickly. _Ed thought. "Yeah," He placed his hands behind his head. "You guys need some excitement in your lives."

Tio smiled at that statement. It was true. She and Megumi just went around to concerts and autograph signings and everything Megumi had to do. They never really encountered any demons. Having Ed living with them would make things a little more entertaining.

Megumi opened the door, back in her school uniform, interrupting Tio's thoughts. They all walked outside, where Megumi's manager was waiting for them. Ed let the girls in first, then slid into the car seat, closing the door.

Ed thought about the concert on the way home. The truth was, he really had enjoyed it. He loved the songs, Megumi's voice, and even her dress.

When they arrived home, Ed, once again, let the girls out first. He closed the car door. Megumi unlocked the front door and they all went in the house. Ed closed the door behind him. He heard Megumi's manager's car riding away from the house.

Tio ran up the stairs to the bathroom. Ed sat on the steps. Megumi sat next to him.

"I'm glad you came with me today," she said, looking at Ed.

"Yeah," he said, looking Megumi in the eyes. "It was pretty fun."

He saw Megumi reach out to kiss him. He quickly dodged her by running up two steps. Megumi's head hit the railing.

"No, not again," he said.

A lump grew on Megumi's head. "Okay… Just warn me first."

Ed smiled. "I will." He ran up the stairs, leaving Megumi rubbing her head. He went in his room, closed the door, and climbed up on the bed. He looked out the window, now closed and the clothes rope on the floor. During the ride home, Megumi said that he had to take the rope apart soon and put the clothes back in the drawers he found them in.

Ed remembered promising himself that he was going to decide whether he was going to leave or stay. He enjoyed his day with Megumi. It was pretty fun, riding around in a bag, seeing how people treated her at school, seeing her half naked, hearing her voice, hearing the excitement at the concert. He thought that he should do this again. No, he _wanted _to do this again.

Ed decided to stay.


	4. The Quarrel of Alchemy

**Chapter Four: The Quarrel of Alchemy**

Edward walked to Kiyomaro's house to play with Gash and Umagon. He thought about his and Megumi's conversation that morning.

"Since it's the weekend, my schedule's not as bad as it usually is," Megumi had said to a barely awake Ed. "So Tio and I will walk you to the library, and you can pick out some books that you like. You _will _have to return them though, or else you'll have to pay—literally."

Ed's face went blank.

"I mean with yen."

"I don't wanna go to the library and read, Megumi," Ed complained. "I wanna hang out with Gash and Umagon."

"Reading's good for you, Ed-kun."

"How so?"

"Well, you can learn new things, and it calms you down."

"Why should I have to learn from a boring old book when I could just learn from experience?"

"Books prepare you for the outside world."

"I disagree, but…on to the other part of your statement. What could I possibly need to be calmed down from?"

"Oh, I don't know… When I call you short."

Ed blew up. "I'm not a pipsqueak! I grew an inch last year! I can be taller than you, so don't call me a pipsqueak! You…"

Megumi laughed as Ed rambled on.

Soon, Ed arrived at Kiyomaro's front porch. He knocked on the door. Hana answered it.

"Hi, Edward-kun," Hana said. "Are you looking for Gash-chan and Umagon?"

"Yes," Ed replied.

"They went to the park along with Kanchome-kun and Tio-chan."

"Kanchome?"

"You'll find out who he is when you get there."

"Okay. Thank you!" Ed ran off towards the park.

"You're welcome!" Hana waved and closed the door.

When Ed got to the park, the first thing he saw was Gash being chased by Naomi. Umagon, Tio, and a boy that looked like a duck sat on the bench, watching.

The duck had orange, cone-shaped hair. He had a duck bill and his butt looked like a tail. Ed wondered if it really was a tail.

"Hey, Ed!" Tio waved. She moved over on the bench, squishing Umagon and the duck a little. Ed sat on the small space left next to her.

"Who's the duck?" Ed asked.

"That's Kanchome," Tio answered.

Kanchome waved shyly.

"Are you…a demon too?" Ed said.

"Yeah…" Kanchome said.

"I just remembered… Gash told me that demons have Book Keepers. You guys never told me who your Book Keepers were."

"Gash's Keeper is Kiyomaro," Tio said. "Mine is Megumi."

"Hard to believe."

Tio reached for Ed's neck, but Ed ran behind the bench before she could get to him.

"My Book Keeper is Parco Folgore," Kanchome said. "He's a world famous per—I mean, superstar and film hero. Umagon's is Kafka Sunbeam. He's an engineer."

"Meru-meru-me!" Umagon merued.

Tio took a deep breath and continued to watch Naomi chase Gash. Ed went around to the front of the bench and sat back down.

"Our Book Keepers are staying in town for a week," Kanchome explained. "Folgore has a concert here, and Sunbeam said that he has to go to some kind of worldwide meeting of engineers. Sunbeam's staying at Kiyomaro's house, and Folgore and I are staying at a hotel."

Ed nodded, then focused on Gash and Naomi's duel. Gash climbed up the jungle gym. Naomi rammed it, making Gash fall down. Naomi backed up as he plummeted to the ground. Gash hit the hard soil, and Naomi started ramming him.

"I'm done-oof!" Gash yelled as Naomi rammed him. "I give up-oof! I surrender-oof!"

"Naomi-sama is the winner once again!" Naomi cheered. She rammed Gash one more time, then backed away deep into the park.

"Augh…" Gash rubbed his chest and stomach. "That was hellish."

Ed ran over to Gash and helped him off the ground. Kanchome, Tio and Umagon ran over as well.

"Thanks, Ed," Gash said.

Ed grinned.

Kanchome reached into his pocket. He pulled out some kind of video game system. "Hey guys, look what I've got!"

Everyone's eyes glowed with amazement. Even though Ed didn't know what it was, he was still impressed by the piece of technology.

"Wow!" Gash said. "I didn't know you had a Nintendo DS, Kanchome!"

"Actually, I've had it for a while now," Kanchome said. "But since I haven't seen you guys in a long time…" He turned the handheld console on. Everyone gathered around him. He used a pen-like object to select options. The game booted up.

"What're you playing?" Ed asked.

"A Mario game," Kanchome said. "See, you have to control the Mini-Marios and get to the door before time runs out."

Ed watched in astonishment as Kanchome controlled the so-called Mini-Marios to the door. Since Ed had spent so much time on the streets, he wasn't really keeping up with the world.

"I wish things like this existed in real life," Ed dreamed.

"Yeah, that'd be pretty cool," Tio agreed.

"Meru!" Umagon also agreed.

"Actually, we do have windup toys like this in toy shops," Gash said. "They work a lot like the ones in this video game."

"Hmm… If only…" Ed went into deep thought.

* * *

Megumi attempted to wake Ed up the next morning.

"Ed-kun, it's time to go," she said.

"I don't wanna go…" Ed whined.

"Come on now," Megumi encouraged him. "You're young, you can get up." She nudged him.

"Aww…" Ed yawned. He got up and went inside the bathroom.

She and Tio waited on the steps for him to get ready. When Ed ran down the stairs, Megumi opened the door, and they all went out.

Ed was walking ahead of the girls as they made their way to the library.

"You guys are _slow…"_ Ed said.

"You actually want to go to the library now?" Megumi said.

"N-No! I was just saying that you guys walk slow…"

"Whatever you say," Tio said disbelievingly.

"No, seriously! I really don't wanna go! I would much rather play with Gash and Umagon and Kanchome! Besides, I haven't even met Sunbeam-san and Folgore-san and have gotten to know Kiyomaro yet."

"You met Kanchome yesterday?" Megumi said.

"Yeah! At the park!"

"I'm glad. Anyway, you'd better let Tio and I lead, Ed-kun. You don't know where the library is."

"Oh, right." Ed waited for Tio and Megumi to catch up, then walked alongside them.

"There's the library!" Tio said, pointing to a small building.

"Well, that doesn't look like much," Ed said, unimpressed.

Megumi opened the door. She and Tio let Ed in first.

"Woah…" Ed's eyes got big. The library was small on the outside, but huge on the inside. There were two floors. Each floor was filled with books sitting on bookcases. There was a librarian in her forties sitting at the desk. She was so perplexed playing Solitaire on the computer that she didn't pay Megumi, Tio and Ed any mind.

Ed watched Tio run upstairs and pick up a book. After a moment, she placed it back on the shelf and picked up another one. She stored it under her arm and looked at another book. Her pattern continued.

"What are you waiting for?" Megumi said, pushing Ed forward. "Look wherever you'd like."

Ed looked at Megumi. She smiled. He blushed and turned around. He didn't know where to start.

He went in the fiction section first, but those books were so outrageously weird that he couldn't take them seriously.

He moved on to the nonfiction and informative section next. He found a series of books that intrigued him. They were called _Alchemy: Volume One,_ _Alchemy: Volume Two, _and so on until volume five. As far as Ed was concerned, alchemy never existed. He thought the alchemy series was a joke. But, despite these feelings, Ed picked up volume one and flipped through the pages to see what the book said.

It gave instructions on how to make various things, such as a clock, microwave, and telescope. There were materials you had to gather to alchemize these items. You also needed a special pair of gloves that could perform alchemy, called alchemic gloves.

_These gloves can be found at an alchemy shop, _Ed read to himself. _However, since not many people believe in alchemy anymore, it will be hard to locate one of these shops._

_An alchemy shop, huh? _he thought. He didn't find any around town when he was out on the streets. _These shops must be truly rare. And then, if I do find an alchemy shop, will they be selling the gloves?_

Ed closed the book and went back to the fiction section. He chose a random book that he knew he wasn't going to read, then went over to Megumi, who was by the magazine rack reading a teen magazine. She carried a book under the magazine. He poked her. Megumi looked at Ed, then at the book he held up. She took the book and scanned the summary on the back.

"This is fine," she said.

Ed held up the alchemy book.

"...Alchemy?" Megumi took the book and opened it to a random page. "...Okay, if you want to."

"The alchemy book says that I need alchemic gloves to alchemize things," Ed said. "Is there an alchemy shop in this town?"

Tio had conveniently finished looking for books and was right next to Ed. She was holding two small children's books to read.

"I've seen a weird shop in town," she said. "It has all this abnormal stuff inside, so maybe that's the shop you're looking for. I'll take you there when we leave."

"Thanks, Tio," Ed said.

After they checked out their books, Tio lead Ed and Megumi to the shop she was talking about. It was indeed an alchemy shop. There was a pair of white gloves in the show window with a label next to it that read "Alchemy Gloves".

They went inside the store. There were blocks of lead, iron rocks, all the alchemy book volumes, different liquids, and many other things Ed didn't recognize. The clerk had his head buried in his arms, asleep.

Ed went to the show window and picked up the gloves. He walked over to the counter and gently tapped the sleeping clerk. The clerk twitched and slowly lifted his head. He was a young, handsome man; he was muscular and had spiky black hair and dark brown eyes.

"Oh, customers…" he said.

Ed placed the gloves on the counter. The clerk stared at them.

"Uh… That'll be…" the clerk started. "Eh, you're the first customer I've had in a while… Just take them…" And he buried his head back in his arms.

"Thank you," Ed said. He took his gloves, slipped them on his hands, and left the store. Megumi and Tio followed.

"That was awkward," Megumi said.

Tio nodded in agreement.

"Hey, I got these for free," Ed said. "If he'll give stuff away every time, then I'll go back there every chance I get."

"Don't steal, Ed-kun," Megumi said.

"I _won't_." Ed had some aggravation in his voice.

Ed ran the whole way home, anxious to try alchemy. Once he got home, he noticed that Tio and Megumi hadn't kept up with him, so he sat on the porch. He stared at the book and gloves. Maybe he could try alchemy right there.

Ed opened the book. There were instructions on how to make steel planks. The description said that steel planks were much more sturdy and reliable than wooden planks.

_Steel planks are best for constructing a treehouse, _Ed read.

The ingredients that he needed were a block of lead and an iron rock. Ed didn't know where to get these materials other than the alchemy shop. If he did go back to the alchemy shop, the clerk, most likely, wouldn't give him the materials for free, and Ed had no money on him. If he stole, Megumi would find out somehow. Maybe he could just get sticks of lead and something made out of iron instead, but only God knows how long that would take. How could he get these materials?

Ed flipped through the pages for something that could tell him how to make a block of lead and an iron rock. Something caught his eye. He stayed at that page and stared at windup toys that looked exactly like the ones in Kanchome's video game: the toys were Mini-Marios. The book called them "Obedient Windup Toys." The description under the picture said, "These windups follow your every command, no matter how good or evil." Ed only needed one rock and one key for one windup. If he could get a seemingly infinite supply of rocks and keys, he would have an army of windups.

He devised a plan. He would need Gash, Umagon, Tio and Kanchome to help him. But how was he supposed to get them to help? Gash was too good and innocent to accept, Umagon had no thumbs, Kanchome would be too scared, and Tio would strangle him into infinity.

Ed flipped to table of contents. He saw a section called "Video Game Systems". The description under the title said, "If you can't afford one, make one." Ed briefly thought of copyright infringement, then went to the designated page. He saw the Nintendo DS and minor ingredients for it. That was perfect.

Now there was the issue of getting Umagon to be able to grab the Mini-Marios. There was a section called "Body Parts" in the table of contents. It sounded repulsive, but there could be just what Umagon needed to be able to grip the windups. Ed went to that page and saw "Mind-Controllable Robot Hands". The description read, "If you have no opposable thumbs, slip these on and use your mind to control them. Grip, grab, and take whatever you need with these."

Ed's plan was set. He just needed to gather Gash, Umagon, Tio and Kanchome to discuss this.

"Ed-kun?"

Ed looked up. Megumi and Tio were above him.

"You were all zoned out," Tio said. "You were staring at your book and didn't look at us when we came or anything."

Ed took his book and stood up.

"Sorry about that," he said, moving aside so Megumi could unlock the door.

Megumi unlocked it and turned, her back to Tio and Ed, to go inside. Ed cast a mischievous look at Tio and reached inside Megumi's pocketbook, taking out her lead pencil. Even without looking at her, he knew Tio was becoming angry.

"What did you take from me?" Megumi asked, looking at Ed.

"You knew?" Ed was amazed.

"Girl instinct," Megumi said, winking and cocking her head a little.

Ed blushed and held his head down, staring at the floor. He quickly regained his composure, saying, "I took your lead pencil. See, I need the lead for alchemy, and I don't wanna lose the lead carrying it in my hand."

Megumi reached inside her pocketbook. She pulled out a small case with sticks of lead in it. She handed the case to Ed. "Here, that should do."

"Thanks," Ed said, putting the lead case in his pocket.

Megumi went inside. Before Tio could go in, Ed ran in front of her and closed the door.

"We need to go to Kiyomaro's house," Ed said.

"Why?" Tio was getting suspicious.

Before Ed could answer, Megumi opened the door.

"Aren't you coming inside?" she asked. She was becoming suspicious, too.

"Soon," Ed said. "We have to go to Kiyomaro's house."

Megumi became even more suspicious.

"See, I never met Sunbeam-san and Folgore-san, so…"

Megumi smiled. "Alright, that's fine." Her face got stern. "Don't try anything funny, okay?"

"We won't," Ed assured her. And he and Tio went in the direction of Kiyomaro's house, Ed with his alchemy book tight in hand.

Megumi watched them until they were out of sight, then closed the door.

"What are you _really _going there for?" Tio asked.

"How did you know?" Ed said, astonished.

"Girl instinct," Tio said mockingly.

"So all girls have that… I wonder how come Megumi didn't realize…"

"What are you talking about?"

"It's nothing. Anyway, I have something important to talk to you, Gash, Umagon, and Kanchome about.

"Oh? What is it?"

"I can't tell you until we get to Kiyomaro's house."

So Tio blindly followed Ed until they arrived at Kiyomaro's house. Ed knocked on the door. This time, Kiyomaro opened the door.

"Hey, Ed, Tio," Kiyomaro said. "Did you come to see Gash, Umagon and Kanchome?"

"Yep!" Ed replied.

"They're upstairs in my room." He looked at Ed's gloves. "Why do you have gloves on when it's warm out?"

"I'm gonna show Gash, Umagon, Kanchome and Tio something."

"Oh, alright then. Go ahead." Kiyomaro moved aside for Tio and Ed to get by. He watched them run upstairs in his room and close the door.

"Hi, Ed, Tio!" Gash greeted them. Him, Umagon and Kanchome were playing with Vulcan and a dinosaur toy. Blocks were arranged like a city.

"Meru-meru?" Umagon pointed to Ed's book.

"Oh, this?" Ed held up the book. "This book tells you how to perform alchemy. I have gloves on because they're needed to actually alchemize stuff."

"Alchemy?" Kanchome said, flustered.

"You'll see." He looked at Umagon. "Umagon, aren't you tired of your hooves? It must be annoying, not able to pick anything up."

"Meru!" Umagon nodded.

Ed turned to the page with the Mind-Controllable Robot Hands. He took out the materials needed to make it: a pair of gloves and five pieces of lead. He read the directions for performing alchemy. All he needed to do was clap his hands together then slap them on the materials. He had to keep his hands on the materials until the flashes stopped.

Ed did exactly that. The room flashed; nobody could see anything, like lightning during a thunderstorm. When the flashes stopped, Ed slowly took his hands off the materials to see the finished product. The demons gathered around Ed. All of them were astounded; the robot hands had been successfully alchemized.

"Now, Umagon," Ed said, slipping the robot hands on Umagon's front hooves, "in order to use these, you need to use your mind. Tell these gloves to grab something, and they will do it. The directions say that once you get accustomed to them, they'll be able to grip things on their own without you telling them to do it telepathically."

"Meru-meru-me!" Umagon understood.

"Okay. Gash, Umagon, Tio, I know you all want a Nintendo DS like Kanchome has."

Gash, Umagon and Tio nodded.

"Well, I can make that for you using alchemy." Ed turned to the page with the Nintendo DS. He saw the glow of Gash's, Umagon's, and Tio's eyes.

"Make it for us, please!" Gash said.

"Yeah!" Tio said.

"Meru-meru!" Umagon merued excitedly.

"Nothing in life comes for free, though," Ed said. "First, you need to help me with something."

"What's in it for me?" Kanchome asked.

"Bravery." Ed put his arm around Kanchome. "The adrenaline rush of taking a risk. You want to be brave, don't you?"

Kanchome nodded. He started trembling.

"Oh, it won't be bad. I'll make sure we aren't caught doing this."

"It's bad?" Gash said. "I remember what you did to Tio, almost getting us in trouble with Megumi-dono, and I'm not going to do it."

"Fine then." Ed crossed his arms. "All of you have to help in order for all of you to get your DSes. And Kanchome, you won't be able to become a man. Someone able to protect others."

"I miss up on an opportunity to learn how to protect others…?" Kanchome balled his hands into fists and looked at the floor. A past experience pained him.

"Gash…" Tio said, hands ready for strangling. "You _better _help…"

"Meru-meru-me!" Umagon wanted the DS, too.

Gash gulped. "Okay, I'll help."

"Alright then!" Ed said, taking his arm off from around Kanchome. He turned to the page with the Mini-Marios on it. "Now, on with the plan…"

* * *

It had been almost an hour and a half since Tio and Ed left. Megumi flipped through the channels, looking for something to watch. She gave up halfway through and watched a judge show. But before she could even get into the case being arbitrated, the news suddenly interrupted it.

"We interrupt this program to bring you breaking news live from Pat's Bakery," the reporter said. Next to him was the baker, Pat. Behind them was a line of windup toys that looked like Mario from the video games going inside the bakery. There was another line coming out with bread, baguettes, cookies, everything edible. "It seems as though windup Mario toys are stealing merchandise and food throughout the town. Police have tried to go to the source, but when they get there, no one is found."

Pat took the microphone. "I tried to stop them, but they're won't stop, so I gave up," he said. He gave the microphone back to the reporter.

"From food stores"—a grocery store was shown, Mini-Marios coming and leaving with food in hand, the clerks standing at their stations obviously not caring—"to technology stores"—a technology store showed up, windup toys going in and coming out carrying laptops, cell phones, and other gadgets, employees staring at the windups—"and even common households"—a strangely familiar house came up, with a female reporter and a strangely familiar boy beside her, and the toys waddling in and ceding with rice balls, sushi, and even potato chips—"these windup toys are technically wreaking havoc everywhere in this peaceful town."

"K-Kiyomaro-kun's house?!" Megumi exclaimed. "Is that Kiyomaro-kun?!"

"Next to me I have Kiyomaro Takamine," the female reporter said. "His house is one of the many victims of these windup toys." She gave the microphone to Kiyomaro.

"Well, if you'll come inside with me…" Kiyomaro said.

The reporter followed Kiyomaro inside his house. Hana was sitting down in the kitchen, sweating, her eyes closed. Folgore and Sunbeam fanned her with two freakishly large fans. Mini-Marios were around them, broken. Other Mini-Marios were climbing on each other, opening cupboards, and taking out food. They went in the refrigerator, looked in the oven, everywhere food was hidden, and left the house once they got the food they wanted.

"They just randomly came in," Kiyomaro said. "Fortunately, they're only stealing food, not valuables." He pointed at Hana, Folgore and Sunbeam. "We all tried to stop them, but my mother got too tired fighting them off. They...just...won't stop, so we just stopped fighting them."

"Stealing food…" Megumi thought out loud.

Kiyomaro gave the microphone back to the reporter.

"The police are saying that they believe kids are behind this," the reporter said.

"They must be some smart kids," a cameraman said.

"Indeed," Kiyomaro said.

"Kids…" Megumi contemplated.

"The toys stealing food from the bakery are coming from the park," the reporter said.

The park was shown. The male reporter from the bakery was there standing next to Naomi. Mini-Marios came from the bushes, returning with food.

"Naomi-chan was playing peacefully when she was interrupted by Mini-Marios," the male reporter said. He held the microphone to Naomi.

"I followed them into the bushes, but when I got there, no one was there," Naomi said.

The reporter held the microphone in front of his mouth. "So, we can conclude that the delinquents are changing locations." He watched Mini-Marios going into the bushes with nothing in hand. "We can also say that the kids are communicating somehow; more windups are going into the bushes carrying nothing, so if someone runs out of windups, another sends more to that kid to send out."

"This was well planned out," Megumi said.

"It'll be hard catching the culprits," the reporter said, "but if you can help in any way, please do."

And with that, the station returned to the judge show.

Megumi turned the T.V. off and put on her sunglasses. She left the house.

"I think I have a pretty good idea who's behind this…" she said. And she followed a line of Mini-Marios to the source.

* * *

Ed wound up windup after windup and commanded them to steal food. His plan was going smoothly so far with the Obedient Windup Toys. He had enough ingredients to alchemize a lifetime supply of them. As long as Kiyomaro, Megumi, Folgore and Sunbeam didn't find out, him, Gash, Umagon, Tio and Kanchome were golden. He had told them that if they did hear someone coming, they would tiptoe away. Ed had alchemized ultra-sensitive hearing aids so they could hear everything. He had also alchemized walkie-talkies so they could keep in touch. He sent more windup toys anytime they needed them.

Ed had stolen a lot of food doing this. He loved stealing. He just couldn't stop; he loved making mischief too much.

No one had attempted to find Ed yet, which was good considering the weight of his sack containing his ingredients for more windups.

His ears twitched. Someone was coming. Ed tried to pick up his sack, but it was too heavy. He dragged it away from the area. The sack ran over a rock, and it tore open. Everything spilled out.

Ed looked behind him and saw the mess.

"Damn it!" he said. He took his hearing aid and walkie-talkie off and threw them into the pile of materials. He gripped his alchemy book and sprinted away.

Something caught him by the collar. Ed slowly turned around. He saw long legs and looked up. Megumi towered above him, her eyes hardened. Ed buried his head in his hands.

"Ah…" he said. "Ah, damn it…"

"Turn off these windups," Megumi said, "and lead me to where the others are."

"The rest will steal what I told them to steal, then they'll stop."

Ed lead her in the bushes at the park. They heard Kanchome begin to run away.

"It's okay, Kanchome," Ed said. "It's me."

Kanchome emerged from a bush. He saw Megumi and froze. Sweat dripped from his face. Then he sighed.

"It was gonna happen sometime," he said. And he followed Ed to the next hiding place.

After they found all the demons, they returned to Kiyomaro's house. Ed and the demons lined up next to each other. Both Gash and Kanchome trembled. Ed and Umagon looked at the floor. Tio had her arms crossed, prepared to take the punishment. The Book Keepers stood in front of their demon partners. Hana was asleep, her head resting against her hand, in the kitchen.

"We're very disappointed in you all," Kiyomaro said. "Especially you, Gash. I know you would never do something like this. Ever_._"

"Tio threatened me," Gash said.

"Gash!" Tio cast Gash a devilish look.

"Tio, you should've known better," Megumi said.

"Ed bribed us. He said he would give us Nintendo DSes, and that all of us had to help if we wanted them."

"Ed?" Folgore said. "Is that him?" He pointed to Ed. Ed looked up at a man with orange hair and blue eyes. He looked Italian.

"Yes," Megumi said. "I found him stealing from Pat's Bakery one night, and I took him to live with Tio and I."

Folgore looked at Kanchome. "You already have one of these video game systems, Kanchome. What made you do it?"

"Ed said it would give me bravery," Kanchome said. "But after all that, I'm still afraid of everything."

"Meru-meru-me!" Umagon held up his robot hands.

"Where'd you get those from, Umagon?" Sunbeam asked. Ed looked at him. He had short, blond hair and green eyes.

Umagon pointed at Ed.

Ed looked back down at the floor. He rubbed his brown shoes together. "I used alchemy to make it. I used alchemy to make everything for this."

"Ed-kun!" Megumi said. "Don't use alchemy for stealing!"

"Anyway, we need to return everything," Kiyomaro said.

"Yeah," Sunbeam said. "We should split up."

"Do we still get our DSes?" Tio asked.

"No," Ed replied.

Oddly, Tio didn't make a move or threaten him.

So they split up. Megumi pulled Tio and Ed by their ears on the way out, and Sunbeam pulled Umagon's tail. Folgore did nothing to an already unstable Kanchome. Gash quietly sobbed, so Kiyomaro didn't do anything to him.

They went back to where they had left everything and took the items they had stolen. Then, they went to the places they stole from.

Megumi, Tio and Ed went to Pat's Bakery first. Ed pulled Megumi's arm the whole way there, trying to get her to release her grip on his ear. However, she held firm on the tip of his ear.

When they got there, they returned the bread, baguettes, cookies, everything.

"And? What do we say?" Megumi looked at Tio, then Ed.

"We're sorry," Tio and Ed said remorsefully in unison, their ears burning.

Folgore and Kanchome went to Kiyomaro's house with all the stolen food. Hana was still asleep, so they put everything back without waking her. They went to where Kanchome hid and cleaned everything up. After that was finished, they went back to Kiyomaro's house, but Hana was still asleep. They waited there for her to wake up so Kanchome could apologize.

Kiyomaro and Gash went to the grocery store, each carrying a sack of food. They requested to see the manager. Once the manager appeared, they gave him the sacks.

"These were stolen because of the windup toys," Kiyomaro said. "Sorry about that."

"I'm sorry," Gash said, still sobbing.

"That's alright," the manager said, storing the food.

And Kiyomaro and Gash walked behind the store and crawled through the small hole in it. They gathered everything left over.

Sunbeam carried a backpack of stolen gadgets while pulling Umagon's tail, and Umagon carried a sack on his back. They went inside the technology store. Sunbeam placed the backpack on the counter, took Umagon's sack, and put it on the counter.

The clerk opened the backpack and saw the stolen gadgets. Then he opened the sack and saw the same gadgets.

"These were stolen, right?" the clerk said.

"Yes," Sunbeam said. "We're returning them."

"Meru…" Umagon apologized.

"Umagon says he's sorry," Sunbeam translated.

"Thank you," the clerk said, going into a storage room.

Sunbeam and Umagon went to the back of the store and cleaned the mess left up.

Megumi, Tio and Ed went back where Ed hid. They took keys, rocks, lead and windups, and put them in the extra bags they brought. Then, they went to Tio's hiding place and placed all the Mini-Marios in the bags.

They went to Megumi's house. Tio and Ed started running upstairs.

"Tio, Ed-kun, wait," Megumi said.

Tio and Ed froze.

"Come here."

Tio and Ed slowly went down to Megumi.

"Both of you are to stay in the house for a week. Don't go anywhere, or else you will face an even worse punishment."

They nodded and went back upstairs. Ed went in his room and closed the door. Tio went in the bathroom.

Ed heard a car drive off. Megumi had left for work.

He went downstairs. Sunbeam sat in a recliner chair, watching T.V.

"What're you doing here?" Ed asked.

"Megumi said for me to keep an eye on you and Tio," Sunbeam said. "She said I'm not supposed to let either of you leave."

"What about Umagon?"

"Umagon stays at Kiyomaro's house. Hana-san and Kiyomaro can watch him."

Ed ran back upstairs in his room and closed the door. He flopped on the bed, laying on his back. He really felt like trying to escape again. This meant that he wasn't allowed to play with Gash, Umagon, or Kanchome. It was okay, though; they were probably on punishment as well.

But what Megumi said and did didn't matter. Ed was going to do whatever he wanted for the week on punishment.


	5. The Quarrel of Building

****

Chapter Five: The Quarrel of Building

Ed woke up that morning. He peeked in Megumi's room. The bed was empty, so he assumed that Megumi had already left for school and work.

He went downstairs. Sunbeam was sitting in the recliner chair again, watching television.

"Good morning, Sunbeam-san," Ed said.

"Good morning," Sunbeam said.

Ed slowly opened Tio's bedroom door. Tio was still asleep, laying on her stomach. He closed the door and went in the living room.

"Hey, Sunbeam-san," Ed said.

"Hm?" Sunbeam looked at Ed.

"Have you eaten breakfast yet?"

"No, I didn't have time this morning."

"Okay."

Ed went in the kitchen. He had spent half his night thinking about how to get out of the house. Luckily, there were instructions in the alchemy book on how to make sleeping pills. Ed had alchemized the sleeping pills the night before and put them in his pocket.

Ed heat up a waffle in the microwave. He stuffed a pill in it. Then he gave it to Sunbeam, who gladly accepted. Sunbeam ate it quickly, and fell asleep just as quick.

The alchemy book said that anyone who took the pills would wake up in exactly six hours, so that gave Ed six hours of freedom.

Ed didn't have to worry about Tio; she didn't care what happened to him.

Ed took a shower and got dressed. He snuck out the house to take a walk. He couldn't go to Kiyomaro's house, since Gash and Umagon were probably on punishment. So he went in the alleyways and dug in the dumpsters like he used to when he was out on the streets.

He felt something strangely familiar. He slowly pulled the object out. It was a skateboard. Ed grinned from ear to ear. He loved skateboarding. Now he could skateboard around town instead of walking.

First, however, he had to see if he remembered how to skateboard. He hopped on the skateboard and faced sideways, balancing himself. He made sure his toes were positioned correctly. He had the position down.

Next, he had to see if he could still ride it. He lifted one foot off of the skateboard and touched the ground with it. He pulled the skateboard forward with his foot. He remembered how to ride it.

He rode back to Megumi's house. On the way there, he saw the next door neighbor's daughter outside jumping rope. He got off his skateboard and stared at her.

She was around his age. She had short, blonde hair in a ponytail and bangs. She had beautiful, energetic blue eyes. She was in a white dress.

By now, she had taken a notice to him, too. She stopped jumping rope and dropped the rope. She walked up to him.

"Hi, I'm Winry," she said. "You're Megumi's brother, right?"

"N-No…" Ed said. "We just live together…"

"Lucky, she's an idol."

"So?"

"You don't know who an idol is?"

"Not really…"

"I read an internet article that said an idol's someone who's chosen more for their personality than their talent. They get thrown away like trash after they pass their early twenties, though."

"Thrown away like trash… That's a _great _way of putting it. And I'm not being sarcastic."

"Off the subject of idols. I'm constructing a treehouse. It's going to be in that big, yew tree in the backyard."

Winry pointed to it. The yew seemed to stretch endlessly into the sky and had many branches.

"That's a perfect tree," said Ed.

"I'm going to get Al to help. He's a boy who lives to the right of you. I'll introduce you to him."

So Ed and Winry walked to Al's house. Winry knocked on the door. A boy a little younger than Ed opened it.

He had brown hair and golden brown eyes. He looked a lot like Ed. So much that you could call them brothers. He wore a white, collared T-shirt and khaki shorts.

"Hi, Winry," the boy said.

"Hi, Al," Winry replied. "This is Ed."

"Yo," Ed said.

"My full name is Alphonse," Al said. "But you can call me Al."

"I need you to help us with my treehouse, Al," Winry said. "Do you have any planks?"

_Planks… _Ed thought.

"No, sorry," said Al.

"I have steel planks," said Ed. "Will that be okay?"

"Yeah," Winry said. "They'll make the treehouse last a lot longer."

Ed ran back to Megumi's house. He put his skateboard in his closet, slipped on his alchemic gloves, grabbed some lead, and tucked his alchemy book under his arms. He met Winry and Al outside the house.

"I thought you were going to get the planks," Winry said.

"I'm going to alchemize them," Ed said. He put the lead and rock on the ground. He flipped the pages of the book. "I need gloves to actually do it. Do either of you have anything iron? Preferably a rock."

"I know it sounds nerdy, but…" Al began. "I collect rocks, and some of them are iron. How many do you need?"

"Just one."

Al went in his house and came back out with a small rock. He gave it to Ed.

"Thanks." Ed clapped his hands together and slapped them on the ingredients. They flinched as everything flashed around them. The flashes gradually stopped. Ed opened his eyes and saw a pile of steel planks before him.

"Wow…" Winry said, amazed. "How'd you do that?"

"Alchemy," Ed said, proud of the appreciation.

"Can I learn how to do that?" Al asked.

"Yup. I'll take you to the alchemy shop and get you a pair of gloves and an alchemy book later. Do you wanna learn how, Winry?"

"No," she replied. "It looks cool, but it'll be enough if you two know it."

They walked in Winry's backyard and stood in front of the yew tree. It looked even taller than it had from a distance. It towered above all three of them.

"I want the treehouse on the lowest branch," Winry said, taking out hammers and nails. She gave a hammer and some nails to Al and Ed, and kept a hammer and nails for herself.

They climbed up the tree and started building. Everything wasn't going as well as they thought it would. Ed's thumb got swollen after he accidently hit it with the hammer a couple of times. He was getting frustrated because of the pain and missing the nails so often. Al slipped on the branch and slid down the tree. Fortunately, he landed on his feet, but a splinter had lodged in the area between his thumb and index finger. Ed dropped a steel plank. Winry was climbing up the tree, but the plank landed on her head. She fell hard on the ground, a huge lump growing on her forehead. Planks and nails fell on and around her.

Al and Ed slid down the tree. Winry had a couple nails stuck in her, planks were piled on her, and she was bleeding. Ed checked her pulse; it was still beating.

"She's just unconscious," said Ed.

"Maybe we should build later…" Al said. "You know, with an adult around to help us."

Ed ignored his statement. "Let's take her inside."

So Al and Ed carried her in her house and laid her down on the sofa. Al plucked the nails from Winry and got a handful of band-aids. He carefully laid the band-aids on her. While he did this, Ed looked in his alchemy book to see if there was anything to help with unconsciousness, but there was nothing.

Al got Winry a cup of water and splashed it on her head, but she didn't come to. Meanwhile, Ed ravaged the cabinets in hope to find some kind of medicine for this. However, there was nothing.

"I don't know what to do…" Ed said. "If Megumi finds out…"

"She'll understand that it was an accident," said Al.

"No… I'm on punishment… I'm not supposed to be out…"

"Why don't you go back home? I'll stay here and watch Winry."

Ed nodded and opened the front door to leave, but Tio stood in the doorway. He closed the door.

"No, that's okay," he said. "I'd feel too guilty."

Both Ed and Al heard Tio hollering and banging outside.

"What's that noise?" Al said.

"I've heard that the birds have been rampaging lately," said Ed.

"Birds can't make that much noise." Al opened the door. Tio immediately stopped her banging and screaming and stared at him.

"Where's Ed?" she demanded.

Ed smirked and waved.

Tio pushed past Al. "You're going to be in big trouble, Ed! I saw the plank knock out that girl. When I tell Megumi…"

"…we'll both get in trouble," Ed finished.

Tio thought for a moment. "Hm, you're right. Well, in that case, both of us should just leave and pretend that we never went out."

"No. Since you're here, you should help us make this girl conscious again."

"I could if Megumi was here."

"But she's not here, so you'll have to do it like us humans do."

"What're you guys talking about?" Al said.

"I'm Tio, a demon child," Tio said. "The rest about the battle isn't really that important, so…"

"I don't really understand, but… I'm Alphonse. You can just call me Al. The unconscious girl's name is Winry."

Tio, Ed and Al did everything they could to make Winry conscious again. Tio punched Winry in the face. Ed put a boombox close to her ear, put it on the maximum volume level, and played it. Al roughly shook her. But nothing worked.

Tio, Ed and Al plopped on the sofa.

"Maybe we should just wait 'til she's conscious again," Al said.

"We can't wait," Ed said. "We're on punishment."

"But we can't leave you hanging, either," Tio said.

"No, seriously," Al said. "I can take care of it."

Tio sighed. She and Ed reluctantly went back to Megumi's house.

* * *

The next morning, Ed put another sleeping pill in Sunbeam's pancake. He and Tio went in Winry's backyard. Al and Winry were already building. Tio and Ed climbed up the tree and began building.

"I'm Tio," Tio introduced herself.

"I'm Winry," Winry said. She still had band-aids on her face, arms and legs.

"I know, I came over yesterday after you fainted. I saw you get knocked out from the window, and I came to see if you were alright."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"You're okay now, right?" Ed said.

"Yeah," Winry replied.

"I'm really sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. It didn't really hurt. Even after I woke up, I still didn't feel anything."

They worked until the evening. Tio and Ed rushed back to Megumi's house because Sunbeam would be waking up in a couple of minutes.

They arrived and sat in the living room with Sunbeam. Sunbeam woke up.

"There's something wrong with me..." he said. "I keep falling asleep… I should tell Megumi about this..."

"Maybe you have a sleeping disorder," Ed said.

"No, I've never had these problems before… And it's always after I eat."

"Well, uh… I don't know. You should go to the doctor."

"Maybe I should…"

Ed left Tio and Sunbeam in the living room and went in his room. He sat on his bed and looked out the window. He would have to find another way of sneaking out of the house. Sunbeam would soon find out that Ed was putting sleeping pills in his food. Sleeping pills were also capable of killing, as warned by the alchemy book. But Ed didn't know what to do. He wanted to help Winry build her treehouse so badly.

Ed looked in the alchemy book and found a decent alternative to putting Sunbeam to sleep. He could use that for the rest of the week on punishment. He slid the book under his bed and fell asleep.

* * *

As soon as Ed woke up the next morning, he alchemized the hypnotizing watch and went downstairs in the living room. As usual, Sunbeam was sitting in the recliner chair, watching T.V.

"Sunbeam-san, can you help me with something?" Ed said.

"Yes, what is it?" Sunbeam said.

"I'm trying to see if this really works…" Ed held the watch in front of Sunbeam's face. Sunbeam stared at it. His face drooped. He fell asleep a few seconds later. Ed put the watch in his pocket and grinned. "Thank you."

Tio was already sitting on the steps.

"The alchemy book never fails," he said.

They went in Winry's backyard. Winry was building alone. All her band-aids were gone. There were still a few scars and marks on her body from the nails and planks.

"Where's Al?" Ed asked.

"He had an allergic reaction," Winry said, "and had to go to the doctor for medicine. His parents said that his eyes got all puffy. But I don't know what he's allergic to, and neither do they."

Tio and Ed said nothing. They just climbed up the yew and began building.

* * *

Megumi kneeled under her desk, covering her head. A student had found a note in the girls' bathroom. It said that a gang was going to bomb the school. Because of this, the school was going to be closed early. Megumi had felt kind of guilty since there were rumors going around that she had been the cause of the bomb scare.

"Alright, we're going to began letting out," the teacher said. "Please leave through the back door in a single file line. And be careful."

As everyone shuffled out the back door, Megumi thought about how the rest of her Friday would be like. She smiled at the thought of finishing work early and seeing how Tio and Ed were doing.

* * *

Tio and Ed finished for the day. They stood in front of the yew and looked at their work. The treehouse was more than halfway done.

Tio and Ed said their goodbyes and went home. Ed tried Megumi's house door, but it was locked.

"What…?" Ed said. "I left it unlocked…"

"Megumi's here," Tio said.

"What?! Why?! And how do you know?!"

"Megumi always locks the door when she's in and out. And I don't know why she's here, but we're going to be in big trouble..."

Ed reluctantly rung the doorbell. The door was immediately opened, like someone was waiting for them. Just as Tio had said, Megumi was there. She had her serious look again.

"Megumi!" said Ed, acting surprised. "What are you doing here so early?"

"There was a bomb scare at my school. Now, for my question… Where were you two?"

Ed opened his mouth to speak.

"And don't lie."

Ed told her everything about how he had snuck out of the house the first day of punishment, becoming friends with Al and Winry, the treehouse, Winry getting knocked unconscious, Tio coming to Winry's house, and all of them building together.

Megumi sighed. "I just can't keep you two inside," she said. "Especially you, Ed-kun."

"Worse punishment…" Tio mumbled.

"Ti-o…" Ed growled.

"To tell you the truth," Megumi said, "I can't come up with one. Or maybe I should just bring you two with me to work for the weekend."

That couldn't happen. Tio and Ed were going to finish the treehouse that weekend. Ed opened his mouth to tell her this, but, once again, Megumi interrupted him.

"Well, since you're helping someone, you can continue to help Winry with her treehouse. I mean, you _were _doing something productive. But that's the only place you can go this weekend. Not Gash-kun's house, not the park, just Winry's backyard."

Tio and Ed nodded.

"And what did you do to Sunbeam-san?"

Tio looked at Ed.

"First, I used sleeping pills," Ed said. "I alchemized them."

"Ed-kun!" Megumi said. "If you use them too much, they can kill you! And what did I say about alchemy?"

"Don't worry, I only used them for two days. And you said I wasn't supposed to steal using alchemy."

"Ed-kun…"

"Fine. I won't use alchemy for what you define as 'evil'. Anyway, Sunbeam-san was starting to catch on to the sleeping pills, so I hypnotized him using different stuff for the other three days, including today. I alchemized the hypnotizing stuff, too."

"I think I'll take that alchemy book away from you…"

"Like I said, I won't use alchemy for 'evil' anymore!

"Okay… Both of you can go." Megumi moved aside. Tio and Ed started up the stairs.

"What happened…?"

All three heads turned. Sunbeam was awake now. Megumi made only Ed come back downstairs. She forced Ed to explain everything to Sunbeam.

"And…" Ed couldn't think of the right words to finish with. He looked at Megumi for support. He read her mouth. "…I'm sorry."

"That's okay." Sunbeam pushed himself out of the chair and went to the door.

"Thank you, Sunbeam-san," Megumi said. "I won't need you to watch them anymore."

"My pleasure." He opened the door. "I'll see you guys later. When fighting demons, maybe?"

"Maybe."

Sunbeam left.

* * *

Ed shook Tio awake.

"What…?" she said, irritated.

"Winry's treehouse," said an excited Ed. "We can get it done today."

Tio rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and said, "Okay… You can go on ahead… I'm coming..."

Ed left Tio laying on the bed. He walked in Winry's backyard. Al had a brown bag over his head. There were holes cut out for his hair, ears, eyes, nose, and mouth. His eyes looked narrower than usual.

"Hi, Ed!" Al said. "If you're wondering about the brown bag, my eyes are still a little swollen. It looks a little scary, so…"

"Hey, Ed!" Winry greeted.

"Hey." Ed gave some planks to Al. He climbed up the tree with planks in hand.

Minutes later, Tio arrived. She took a few planks and climbed up the tree.

It was sunset when they finished. They stood in front of the tree, proud of their work. The treehouse was silver and a perfect square. There were perfectly square holes that served as windows. Inside, there were four beanbag chairs and a rug. They decorated the treehouse with random posters of bands and famous people.

"The treehouse will be available for use by any of us four anytime," Winry declared, "even if the others aren't with he or she. Anyone else that wants to come in has to be with one of us. And…please don't trash the place. Do you all understand these rules?"

"Yes," Tio, Ed and Al said at once.

"Then we will all pinky swear by them."

They did so.

"Dismissed!" Winry said.

"Hold on," Ed said. "How did you and Al become friends, Winry?"

"We moved in around the same time," Winry explained. "My mother told me to go to Al's house and introduce myself. Before I knew it, I had told him that I had adopted parents and that I didn't know what had happened to my biological ones."

"That's the same with me! I woke up one morning at home, and my parents were gone. I waited for a week for them to come back, but they never did. I ran away because I knew that I would be taken away to an orphanage soon. I started stealing and digging out of dumpsters. I lived like that for a couple of years. Then, Megumi caught me stealing one night."

"Details about Megumi catching you?" Winry prodded.

Ed blushed and looked at the ground. He rubbed his feet together. "Uh...it's kind of embarrassing..."

"My parents just left me alone," Al said. "I had to go to an orphanage, and I was adopted in two weeks. We moved here shortly after. After Winry told me about her parents, I told her about mine. Winry and I have been friends for years since we can understand each other."

"Alright, that's all I wanted to know. See ya."

"That's it?" Tio said, disappointed. She was clearly interested in the stories.

"Yep."

"Bye," Tio said.

Al and Winry waved as Tio and Ed walked to Megumi's door.

Before Ed's finger could reach the doorbell, Megumi opened the door.

"I see you've finished building the treehouse," Megumi said.

"Yep!" Tio and Ed said in unison. Ed ran upstairs and went in his room, as usual. He closed the door.

Tio made sure Ed's door was closed before saying, "Megumi, I have something to tell you about Ed..." She wanted to cause a little drama, which would be entertaining for her.

Meanwhile, Ed lay on his bed. Tomorrow he was going to go to Al's house. He hadn't really seen the inside of Al's house. He was going to get Tio and Winry to come, too. Megumi would, most likely, let him and Tio go.

For some reason, Ed felt a little uneasy. He ignored the feeling and pulled the covers over his head. He slowly fell asleep.


	6. The Quarrel of Addiction

**Chapter Six: The Quarrel of Addiction**

Tio and Ed ran out the door. Both of them were anxious to go to Al's house; Al said that they would tour his house today.

Ed excitedly rang the doorbell. Al quickly answered it. He was a little restless. Behind him, Winry sat on the stairs.

"Ready?" he said.

"Yeah!" Tio and Ed said in unison. Tio jumped up and down. Ed jogged in place.

Al took a deep breath to calm himself down. Tio and Ed did, too. Winry stood up.

They toured the first floor. It was just like Megumi's house, but a lot more modern. There was literally a T.V. in every room. There were television sets upstairs, too. In Al's parents' room, there was a big, plasma screen television. In Al's room, there were two T.V.s: one for watching, and another for video games. Al even had his own computer.

"This is why I love coming here," Winry said. "There's so much…technology. I love it!"

"Yeah, yeah!" said Ed, a little hyper. "Technology's awesome! Megumi should let me move here!"

"You must never get bored," Tio said. "There's just too much to do."

"Actually, I do get bored," Al said. "Especially since I'm an only child. Besides, you have to go outside sometime. So I walk outside with Winry." After a pause he said, "Oh, yeah! I forgot to show you guys the basement."

They followed Al into the basement. It was made into a game room. There was a pool table, an arcade game, slot machine, pinball machine, and jukebox.

"This is an uber place," said Ed. "Your parents must be rich."

"I guess you could say that," said Al. "I mean, they only have me to worry about, and they own a big business. But they're not here most of the time because they're busy so much. That's why I go to Winry's place a lot."

"So you basically live alone?"

"Yeah. My parents don't come home until I'm already asleep."

"Anyways, I'm going in the treehouse for a bit," Tio said. "I just need to sit down for a while. I'm on a sugar rush without any sugar."

"Me too," Winry said. "I hate to leave, but if I stay any longer, I'll be running all over the place checking things out. See you guys around."

Tio and Winry climbed the stairs and closed the door.

"She really did run all over the place the first time she was here," Al said. "She ran around almost all night, and I got tired of chasing her trying to get her to stop. When my parents got home, they had to stop her."

"I would pay to see that," Ed said.

"Ha, she loves technology. Come on, let's go in my room."

Al lead Ed into his room. Al picked up the controller to his video game system. He picked up a game called "Crash Bandicoot" and inserted it in the console.

"We'll take turns," he said.

"Okay," Ed agreed.

It looked so cool, the way Al played. He wouldn't die, so he let Ed play. Ed couldn't stop; he loved playing so much. He got to the second island and reluctantly let Al play.

They knew they were playing for a lot longer than intended and should've stopped, but they were hooked.

* * *

Megumi lay on the couch, watching television. She had gotten home from work an hour ago. The sun was setting. She looked at her watch. It was past dinnertime.

_Tio and Ed-kun sure have been gone for a long time… _she thought. _Maybe I should go get them. I mean, the streetlights are about to come on, and they probably haven't eaten dinner yet._

Just then, she heard the doorbell ring. She lazily got up and opened the front door.

"Tio!" Megumi said. "You're back." She looked to the side of Tio. "…Where's Ed-kun?"

"He's still not here yet?" Tio said.

"No, I thought he was with you."

"Actually, Winry and I were in the treehouse talking. See, we had just finished touring Al's house, and Winry and I were kinda hyper from seeing all the cool stuff he had there, so we went in the treehouse to calm down. Ed must still be at Al's house."

"I'm going to Al-kun's house to see what Ed-kun's doing. Tio, you stay here."

"Okay."

Megumi went out. Tio went in and closed the door. Megumi walked to Al's house. She knocked on the front door, but Ed was too deep into playing to open it.

"You get it, Al…" he said.

"No, you get it…" Al said. "I'll take over for you…"

"I can't stop playing…"

"I can't stop watching…"

The front door was carelessly unlocked. Megumi opened the door and went inside. She looked up and saw a closed door to a room. She went upstairs and opened the door. Ed and Al were inside, both their mouths agape. Ed had a controller in his hand, rapidly pushing buttons. Al silently watched.

"Ed-kun, Al-kun," Megumi said, "you two left the front door unlocked. Imagine if I were a burglar and I beat both of you up."

She stopped talking because Ed and Al had taken no notice to her. Megumi sighed and walked in front of the T.V. Ed pushed one final button. He and Al closed their mouths. They seemed to come back to their senses.

"M-Megumi!" Ed said, clearly surprised.

"Ed-kun, you've been here too long," Megumi said. "It's time for you to come home and eat dinner. Al-kun, I suggest you come to my house for dinner as well."

"Megumi-san…" Al said.

"How do you know Al?" Ed asked.

"When he first moved in," Megumi explained, "I came here with a cake as a present. Al-kun and his parents sat down with me, and we talked and ate the cake. I did the same with Winry and her parents, except I had a pie."

Ed and Al kept sitting down, staring at her.

"Move…" Ed said.

"No," Megumi said, narrowing her eyes a little. "You guys need to take a break."

"I…have to keep playing…"

"It's almost my turn…" said Al.

Megumi took them by their collars and dragged them out.

"Me-gu-mi…!" Ed said through clenched teeth. He tried to get loose, but Megumi had the firmest grip. Al didn't make an attempt to get loose. He let himself be dragged all the way to Megumi's house.

"Tio," Megumi shouted, "it's me! I can't knock or ring the doorbell, so please open the door."

Tio opened the door a few seconds later. She saw Megumi gripping Ed and Al's collars and burst out laughing.

"So you got them to come!" she said. She continued laughing.

"Tio…" Ed said. "Wait until I get my hands on you, you little devil… Trust me, you _won't_ be laughing…"

"Yeah, I bet."

"Both of you…" Megumi gave each of them a stern look.

Ed crossed his arms. Tio stopped laughing and let them inside. She closed the door and locked it. Megumi let go of the boys. Ed immediately grabbed the doorknob and was about to unlock the door, but Megumi pulled him back by his collar.

"Don't you dare try," Megumi said.

Ed hung his head down, went in the living room, and lay on the couch on his stomach. Al sat on the ground in front of him and stared at the ceiling. Megumi and Tio went in the kitchen and began cooking dinner.

While she cooked, Megumi thought about what to do. If she let Ed and Al go back to Al's house, they would be hooked for who knows how long. She had to do something to stop their addiction.

Before she knew it, she was calling Ed and Al in to eat. Ed still held his head down, and Al looked distant. Nothing was said as they ate.

After Ed finished, he got up, ran to the door and unlocked it. Al got up, making his chair fall down, and ran after him.

"Ed-kun! Al-kun!" Megumi ran after them.

Tio laughed.

Ed opened the door, let Al out, and closed the door on Megumi. They ran towards Al's house. Megumi had opened the door by now and was running towards them at full speed. Al looked back and saw Megumi charging at them. He squeaked.

"Ed, she's gaining quick!" he warned.

"I know!" Ed said, opening Al's house door. He almost closed it, but Megumi put her foot in the door.

"Open the door…" Megumi grunted. She began pushing the door with her shoulder.

"Al…" Ed gnarled. He also pushed the door with his shoulder, but struggled against Megumi's strength.

"I don't want to…" Al said.

Ed looked at Al from the corner of his eye. "You have to if you wanna keep playing..."

"Ed-kun… Al-kun…" Megumi pushed with all her strength and will. The door started opening.

"Come on... I can't keep doing this for much longer… I hate to admit it, but she's stronger than me…"

Al stared at Megumi's foot. He had to do it; the door was almost open wide enough for her to take her foot from out of the door. He had to do it… He had to do it soon…

He stomped on her foot. There was a crunching sound.

"Owww!" Megumi yelped. She withdrew her foot, grabbed it and hopped around.

Ed closed the door and locked it. He held his fist to Al. Al stared at it, not knowing what it meant.

"Pound it," Ed said.

Ed and Al pounded their fists together. They ran upstairs and began playing video games.

* * *

Megumi tried to open the door, but it was locked. She ignored the pain and ran back to her house. She opened the door. Tio still sat at the kitchen table, laughing, her face bright red.

"Tio," Megumi said, "do you have a picklock?"

"I have a bobby pin," Tio said. She held it out.

"Thanks." Megumi ran over to her, took the bobby pin, and ran back out.

"Good luck!"

Megumi flashed Tio a smile and closed the door. She ran to Al's house and put her ear against the door. She picked the lock with the bobby pin. She heard it unlock and opened the door.

She ran upstairs to Al's door. She tried the door, but that was locked as well. Once again, she put her ear to the door and picked the lock. It unlocked, and she opened it.

Inside, Ed and Al were playing again. They didn't look at her. Megumi unplugged the console.

"Hey!" Ed said. "I was halfway through that level!"

"It's a good thing I just saved it," said Al.

"Wait…Megumi…? How...?"

"I picked the locks," Megumi said, holding the bobby pin up for a second, then jamming it in her pocket. She grabbed their ears and dragged them back to her house.

"Megumi…" Ed pulled Megumi's hand.

"Don't do that," she said. "I know that just makes it hurt more."

They arrived at the front door.

"Tio!"

"Coming!" Tio yelled. She opened the door. Tio looked at them and laughed again.

They went inside. Tio closed and locked the door. Megumi released Ed and Al.

"Al-kun, you're sleeping here tonight."

Ed and Al ran upstairs towards Ed's room.

"Both of you are sleeping in my room."

Ed and Al came to an abrupt stop. They dragged themselves into Megumi's room and closed the door.

"Keep the door open."

Al opened the door.

Megumi turned to Tio, who was beside her now. "Tio, I need you to sleep in front of the door tonight. Make sure Ed-kun and Al-kun don't leave if they get past me."

Tio really didn't want to, but she said, "Alright."

Megumi slipped into her pajamas and went into her room. She closed the door and fell facefirst on the bed. She immediately fell asleep.

Ed and Al had laid out sleeping bags that were kept in Megumi's room. Both lay on their back in the bags.

"Hey, Al," said Ed. "You awake?"

"Yeah," Al replied. "I can't go to sleep. I can't stop thinking about video games."

"Me neither. We gotta get back to your house somehow."

"You two know that I can hear you, right?" Megumi was suddenly awake.

"M-Megumi?!"

"I'm quite a light sleeper. And don't even bother trying to leave. Tio's guarding the front door."

"Okay…" Al said. He flipped over on his stomach and closed his eyes.

"I doubt she'll do a good job of guarding," Ed grumbled.

"Even if she doesn't," Megumi said, "I'll definitely catch you."

"Whatever." Ed pulled the covers over him. He didn't know how tired he really was until he fell asleep.

* * *

Megumi was already awake and out of bed. The bathroom door was closed, so Ed assumed that either she or Tio was inside.

Ed crept down the stairs. He didn't see Al anywhere. Tio was in her room, laying on the bed, asleep. That meant that Megumi was in the bathroom, which made leaving much easier.

He didn't know where Al was, but didn't care. He was going to play video games even if he was alone.

He unlocked the door and left. He ran to Al's house, opened an unlocked door, closed it, and ran upstairs in Al's room. Al was already playing.

"So you made it," Ed said.

"Yup," Al said. "Megumi-san was in the bathroom."

"She was in the bathroom when I got up, too."

"We have to be real careful today. It's a holiday, so she's off of school and work."

"But it won't help if we lock the doors. She can pick them."

"Let's just play and worry about her when she comes."

Ed nodded and watched Al play.

* * *

"Tio!" Megumi nudged Tio, who was still asleep in her bedroom.

"I'm up…" Tio said sleepily. "What's the schedule for today…?"

"It's a holiday."

"Let me sleep, then…"

"No! You were supposed to be keeping an eye on Ed-kun and Al-kun! They're gone!"

"Sorry about that…but I didn't feel too well…"

Megumi stared at her.

"I had a hard time going to sleep last night...so I came in my bed to try... But I hardly got any sleep because of a head-splitting headache... And I still have that headache..."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Megumi said, hugging her for a brief moment. She went into the kitchen and got Tio an aspirin. She walked back in Tio's room. She held the aspirin out. "Here, take this."

Tio held out her hand. Megumi dropped the aspirin in the palm of Tio's hand. Tio put the aspirin in her mouth and swallowed.

"Thanks, Megumi…" Tio said.

"No problem," Megumi said. "Anyway, I'm going to get Ed-kun and Al-kun. We're going out for a walk. Get better, okay?"

"I'll go to Winry's…"

"Good idea."

Megumi walked Tio to Winry's house and knocked on the door. Winry answered it.

"Hi, Megumi-san!" Winry said.

"Hi, Winry," Megumi said. "Can you look after Tio for me? She has a headache."

"Sure."

Tio ambled in.

"Bye, Tio, Winry!" Megumi said. She ran off towards Al's house. Winry closed the door.

"Suck-errr," Tio said.

"What?" Winry said, confused.

"I was faking the headache so that I could come here and I wouldn't get in trouble for not watching Ed and Al last night."

"Ed and Al… They got hooked, didn't they?"

"Sure did."

"That's a shame. What a burden on Megumi-san."

"I know, especially on her day off. But it's still pretty funny." Tio laughed. Winry laughed with her.

* * *

Al's front door was unlocked again. Megumi opened it. She ran upstairs and went in Al's room. Ed and Al had their mouths hanging open again. They looked completely enveloped in the video game.

"Ed-kun, Al-kun," she said, "we're going out for a walk."

"I'm almost done this level, Megumi…" said Ed without looking at her.

"He's almost done this level, Megumi-san…" Al repeated, still staring at the screen.

"We're going _now," _Megumi said firmly, going behind the T.V. and unplugging it.

Ed and Al stared at the black screen. They stood up.

"Good. Come on."

Ed and Al followed Megumi out. They walked alongside her on opposite sides.

"Isn't it a beautiful day?" Megumi said, cheerful. "It's better than staying inside, right?" She was reaching for Ed's hand, but he suddenly turned around and ran in the opposite direction of where they were walking.

"Go the other way, Al!" he said.

Al sprinted away in the direction of where they walked. Megumi took off after him. Al tripped and fell, sliding on the ground for a few moments until coming to a stop. Megumi grabbed him and ran in the direction where Ed went. She threw Al on her back.

"Are you okay, Al-kun?" said Megumi.

"Y-Yeah…" Al said. _Ed probably didn't make it to my house yet, _he thought. _I don't want to, but…I gotta stall for him! _He covered Megumi's eyes with his arm.

"Wh-What're you doing, Al-kun?" Megumi said. She stopped running and tried to pry his arm off her eyes.

Al grabbed her hair with his free hand and stuffed it into her mouth. Then, he locked his legs around Megumi's neck and pulled downwards. There was a cracking sound.

"Ouch!" Megumi screamed.

Al took his arm off of Megumi's eyes. Her eyes were wide open. He poked both of them with his index fingers.

"Ow!" Megumi covered her eyes with both hands.

Al released himself from her and ran the opposite way of where Ed ran. Megumi stopped covering her eyes, pulled her hair out of her mouth, and charged towards him.

"Sorry!" Al said. "I'm sorry!"

Megumi caught him by the collar in a flash and lifted him up into the air.

"Are you doing this just for Ed-kun?" she asked.

"Yeah…" Al twiddled his thumbs.

"Thanks to that, he's probably at your house by now…" She threw him on her back again and sprinted towards Al's house. "Don't do it again, okay?"

"I won't."

Megumi slid to a stop in front of Al's house door. The door was locked again. She had kept the bobby pin Tio gave her in her pocket just in case. She pulled it out, put her ear against the door, and inserted the pin in the lock, turning and wiggling it until she heard the door unlock. Upstairs, Al's room door was open. Ed was inside, his face on the screen.

"Ed-kun!" Megumi yelled.

Ed cringed. He turned the console off and slowly came down the stairs.

"Ed-kun..." Megumi said.

"Al…" said Ed.

"Sorry, Ed," Al said. "I stalled as much as I could."

"Ed-kun, Al-kun…" Megumi said. She put Al down and firmly held their hands.

"We just can't get away from you," said Ed.

"That's why you should save your energy and _not_ run away."

They walked out of Al's house and went down the street. They walked around town and back to Megumi's house.

"Well, that was boring," Ed said once they were inside.

"But didn't it feel good to be outside?" Megumi said.

"No."

"Oh, Ed-kun… You really need to stop being so pessimistic."

"Why should I?"

But before Megumi could answer, they heard knocking on the door. Al opened the door since he was closest to it. It was Tio.

"Hi, Tio!" he said.

"Hi!" Tio replied.

"How's your headache?" Megumi said.

"My headache's completely gone. That aspirin helped."

"I'm glad."

"Is Al staying here again?" Ed asked.

"Al-kun, will you promise me you won't touch your game?"

"Uh…" Al began.

"Yes, he's staying here again."

"B-B-Bu-But…"

"Until you can get over your addiction, you'll be staying here. And both you and Ed-kun will be sleeping in my room."

Ed and Al groaned and went in Megumi's room, leaving the door open.

Ed couldn't take this. He had to have his own room, his own space. He couldn't share it with two people; it made him uncomfortable that someone could be watching him sleep and hearing him snore.

He had to do something to make Al go home. He went in his room and got the alchemy book and alchemic gloves from under his bed. He walked back to Megumi's room and sat on the floor, flipping pages of the book.

"What're you looking for, Ed?" Al asked.

"I just can't share a small, cramped room with another person, let alone two," said Ed. "I'm trying to find something that'll help with this situation." He suddenly stopped flipping pages. "That is _perfect_! Hey, Al, take a look at this!"

Al leaned over Ed's shoulder and looked at the page Ed pointed to. There was a picture of a handful of pills. The book called them "Addiction-ceasing Pills".

"Wow…" Al said. "You can actually alchemize that?"

"You must be able to," said Ed, "since it's available in the alchemy book. It says that they can stop you from being addicted from anything, even smoking and drinking. Only take two, and your addiction will immediately be gone forever."

"Sounds too good to be true."

"The alchemy book never fails. Shoot, if I sold this in the marketplace, people with addictions would be lining up…and…the money…"

"Let's not think about that. Just alchemize the pills so we can take them and I can go home."

Ed went downstairs. Megumi was sitting down in the kitchen, already in her pajamas. Ed opened the cabinets and took out the aspirin bottle.

"What're you doing with the aspirin?" Megumi asked.

"Al got a headache," Ed lied.

"Hmm… Everyone's getting a headache now… Okay, go ahead."

Ed poured a glass of water and took it upstairs with the aspirin bottle. Then, he ran up the stairs and back into Megumi's room.

"I got the aspirin and water! Megumi didn't suspect a thing!" Ed said, taking four aspirins out of the bottle. He put the aspirins and glass of water on the floor and slipped on his alchemic gloves. He moved the aspirin bottle aside.

But right before Ed could clap his hands, Al said, "Um... Can I do it this time?"

"Sure," Ed said, surprised. He took off his gloves and gave them to Al, who slipped them on. "Clap your hands together and slap them down on the materials."

"Okay." Al did exactly that. Everything flashed, but Ed kept his eyes open. Al had his eyes closed the whole time.

The flashes gradually stopped. Al lifted his hands off the finished product. There were four pills that looked like the pills in the alchemy book and an empty glass on the ground. Al swallowed two pills, then Ed swallowed two.

"Hey…" said Al. "I don't feel like playing video games anymore!"

"I feel the same way!" Ed said. "I might want to play occasionally, but not to the point where I'm obsessed."

"Yeah, me too. Anyway, let's go downstairs and tell Megumi-san."

"No, she'll become too suspicious. I don't want to tell her that I alchemized pills, since almost any pill can kill you if you use them too much. I made Sunbeam-san, a man that watched Tio and I while we were on punishment, take pills, and Megumi flipped."

Al stared at him with a blank face.

"Never mind what I just said. The important thing is that I told Megumi that you had a headache, so say that your headache's gone. Just don't say anything about the addiction."

"What should we do to let Megumi-san know that our addiction is gone, then?" Al asked.

"Don't run away or anything tomorrow. When she asks us if we're still hooked, say no. Since we didn't try to get away, she'll believe us. She also shouldn't think that it was all an act; it'll be too believeable."

"Alright."

Ed and Al went downstairs. Ed put the aspirin back.

"Is your headache gone now, Al-kun?" asked Megumi.

"Yeah, you have good aspirin," Al replied.

Megumi went upstairs with them, and they all went to bed at the same time.

* * *

Everything went according to plan the next day. After a short day of school and work, Megumi took Ed, Al and Tio out for a walk. Ed and Al didn't try to escape. Megumi watched Ed and Al go in the treehouse, and they came back to her house before the streetlights came on. They ate dinner without trying to run away.

Once they had all finished eating, Megumi said, "Al-kun, you can go home tonight, and Ed-kun, you can sleep in your room. Both of you have proven to me that you're not addicted anymore."

"Thank you, Megumi-san," Al said. He got up and walked to the door.

"You're welcome, Al-kun! Bye!"

"Bye, Al!" Tio said.

"See ya, Al," Ed said.

"Bye!" Al said, opening the door, stepping out, and closing the door.

Ed looked at Megumi and smiled. "Thanks, Megumi," he said.

Megumi smiled back. Ed blushed and ran up to his room. He flopped on his bed.

He loved being alone again. It felt much better than sharing a room.

Ed thought about what to do tomorrow while taking the clothes rope apart and putting the clothes in the drawers. He didn't really have anything to do. He could possibly go to Gash's house. After all, he kept telling himself that he would get to know Kiyomaro better. He also needed to ask Megumi about the concert where a demon ambushed them. He agreed upon that and fell asleep.


	7. The Quarrel of Depression

**Chapter Seven: The Quarrel of Depression**

Ed sat on Kiyomaro's bed, watching Kiyomaro do his homework. Umagon was still asleep in his doghouse, and Gash was in the kitchen looking for snacks to give them. Kanchome and Folgore had already gone back to Italy and Sunbeam went back to his engineering job.

Kiyomaro left the room. Ed watched him go down the stairs. Once he was sure Kiyomaro couldn't see him, he looked at Kiyomaro's homework. There were a lot of numbers and letters. Ed read the directions and the examples. He understood them, so he took a separate sheet of paper from the pile of scrap paper and completed all the problems.

Kiyomaro came back. He sat down in his chair and looked at his homework.

"My homework…" he said. "Who the hell did my homework?"

Kiyomaro started flipping out. He raised his fists into the air and yelled. His chair tipped back so much that it fell. He stopped yelling.

"Did you do my homework, Ed?" Kiyomaro asked.

"Maybe," said Ed.

"Ed…"

"Yeah. It was easy."

"You, without an education, understood this?"

"Yeah."

"You may have understood it, but that doesn't mean you got it all right." Kiyomaro got up, picked the chair up, and sat back down. He checked Ed's work. His eyes got bigger and bigger with each problem. He turned and looked at Ed with disbelieving eyes. "You…got them all right…"

Ed was silent. He didn't really care.

"Well, you certainly saved me time. I'll copy them all down." Kiyomaro picked up his pencil and looked at Ed's work, then at his homework. He continued this pattern for a few minutes, and then put his pencil down.

Gash ran in, his hands filled with small candies.

"I got the snacks!" he said. He held out his hand to Ed. "Pick."

"I don't want anything," said Ed.

"Uh…okay… Kiyomaro, do you want something?"

"No thanks, Gash," replied Kiyomaro.

"Aww, that's not fair! It took me ten minutes to pick out snacks, and you guys don't want any?"

"Umagon might want something," Ed said.

Gash thought for a moment. "You're right!" He ran back downstairs, yelling, "Hey, Umagon!"

"Wow," Kiyomaro said. "You know how to get rid of Gash, too."

"I guess so," said Ed. "Anyway, I'm going out for a ride on my skateboard. See ya, Kiyomaro."

"You're leaving already?"

"Yeah."

"…Alright. Bye, then."

Ed took his skateboard and left. He saw Gash pushing his candy-filled hand into Umagon's face with a pleading face while Umagon shook his head. Gash turned around.

"Oh, you're going home, Ed?" Gash said.

"Meru?" Umagon merued.

"Yup."

"Okay, bye!" said Gash.

"Meru-meru!" Umagon said goodbye.

"See ya," Ed said, hopping on his skateboard and riding out towards the park.

He stopped in front of the park and watched a young boy running around, chasing a butterfly. The boy tripped and fell. He started crying. His mother ran over and picked him up, embracing him and kissing him.

Ed didn't feel too well. He turned around and skateboarded back to Megumi's house. The door was unlocked, so he picked up his skateboard and went inside. He ran up to his room and closed the door. He climbed on his bed and lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. He didn't remember his mother or father's face, but he yearned for them badly.

Megumi was very motherly, but she wasn't the same. It just didn't have that same feeling.

The door was opened. It was Tio.

"Hey, Ed," she said. "You didn't even say that you were home."

Ed continued to stare at the ceiling.

"Are you okay?"

Ed didn't look at her or say anything.

"What's wrong with you?"

Ed remained motionless.

"Fine. If you won't talk, I'll get Megumi to get something out of you when she gets home." She walked out of the room, closing the door.

Tio walked down the stairs. She had an idea of what was wrong with Ed, but she didn't want to talk to him about it. Even though Tio was similar to Ed in a way, Megumi would do a better job talking to him about it.

Tio went in her room and sat on her bed. She thought back to when Megumi saved her from drowning. Megumi had taken her to a hospital, and she wouldn't tell Megumi anything. This was exactly how Ed was acting.

Ed thought about his childhood. How his parents loved him, but just threw him away like that. He was angry, but he still wanted to see their faces. He thought about how his father taught him to ride a skateboard, and when his father let Ed ride on his motorcycle with him. He remembered his father promising to teach him how to ride a motorcycle.

Ed's mother was firm and caring like Megumi. She made the best cake in the world. Ed loved trying to sneak out with the cake and eat it, but his mother always caught him. At night, his mother would tuck him in and read him stories.

Ed wanted to go back to those times so bad. He thought he was by thinking about it, but in the back of his mind, he knew it would never become a reality.

* * *

Megumi rushed home from another short day of work. She left Tio and Ed alone for the day, and she needed to get home quickly to see if they were still home. She had told both of them that they could go out, but had to be home before the streetlights came on. It was a test of trust between them.

Megumi unlocked the door with her key and went inside.

"I'm home!" she said, slipping her shoes off.

Tio opened her bedroom door and went up to Megumi.

"Hi, Megumi," she said. "Um…there's something wrong with Ed… He came home from Kiyomaro's house and just went in his room. I went up there, but he didn't notice me. He hasn't come out since he came here. It's like…when we had just met, and I didn't say anything."

"I remember," Megumi said.

"Uh…can you do something?"

"I can try." She went upstairs and knocked on Ed's bedroom door. "Ed-kun, are you in there? It's me."

Silence.

"I'm coming in." She opened the door.

Ed lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He didn't look at her. She looked in his eyes. They were distant.

"Can you hear me, Ed-kun?" Megumi nudged him, but he still didn't move. She sat next to him and waited for a while to see if he would take any notice to her, but he didn't. He remained in the same position.

Tio came in. She looked at Ed.

"He hasn't done anything, huh?" she said.

"No," Megumi said.

"I'm going to get Al and Winry. They're adopted, so they should know."

"Thanks, Tio."

"No problem." Tio ran down the stairs and left. Minutes later, she ran back upstairs with Al and Winry following. They crowded around Ed.

"This…" Winry said. "He's depressed."

"Depressed?" Megumi said.

"Yes," said Al. "He's thinking about his biological parents. He misses them. Winry and I had periods like this, too."

"Don't worry," Winry said. "He should be back to normal soon."

"How long?" Tio asked.

"It depends," Al said. "It could take a couple of hours, or it could take a week."

"A week…" Megumi said.

"Really, don't worry," Winry said. "Just check up on him occasionally. It doesn't look like he's going anywhere right now, so we should just leave him alone."

"But…what about eating and everything?"

"He can't feel or hear right now," Al said. "Seriously, we should leave him alone. There's nothing we can do."

Tio and Megumi reluctantly left Ed alone. Al and Winry followed.

* * *

Ed had to see his parents again. The feeling was irresistible, the memories too vivid to leave alone. He had to leave Tio and Megumi to find them.

He climbed out of bed. He took his skateboard, alchemic gloves, and alchemy book. He went downstairs. He unlocked and opened the front door. He locked and closed it so Megumi would just think he went to someone's house.

He skateboarded away. He didn't know where he was going. He just knew that he had to find his parents. It was the beginning of being alone again.

"Where are you going, Ed-kun?"

Ed turned around. Megumi was following him. He skateboarded faster. He heard Megumi start running.

"Ed-kun, please stop."

Ed skateboarded as fast as he could, but Megumi kept up with him. She jumped on the back of his skateboard. She tried to reach for Ed, but the skateboard flipped over from the extra weight. Both of them fell. Ed's book slid away from him, and his skateboard flipped over next to Megumi. Ed lay on his side. Megumi was flat on her face, her long hair spread out.

Ed got up and picked up his book and skateboard. He ran behind a solid wall to the right of them and hid in a bush.

Megumi got up and looked around. Ed was nowhere in sight.

"Ed-kun!" she yelled. No answer.

A wall surrounded an empty lot. She walked in front of it. She stood on her toes and looked behind it. There was only a bush. But she decided to check the bush to see if Ed was in it. She went around the wall where the bush was. She put her hands in it, touching something. It didn't move, so she tickled it. She heard it laugh. The bush shook.

"Come out, Ed-kun," Megumi said.

Ed didn't come out. Megumi pulled Ed out of the bush. Ed eased himself out of Megumi's grasp, but she brought himself to his level, wrapped both arms around his stomach and pulled him into her, embracing him tightly.

"What's wrong?" she said. "You haven't been yourself lately. Everyone's worried."

Ed bit her hand. Megumi drew her hand back. She looked at blood seep out of the bite marks. Ed jumped the wall and ran. Megumi jumped the wall and ran after him. She caught him by the collar and sat on her knees, pulling him into another hug.

"Is it about your parents?" she asked. "Tio told me about it after you both got home from Winry's house."

"…Yeah…" Ed mumbled.

"Why don't you tell me about it?"

Ed couldn't. No matter what he or Megumi did, he could hardly say anything.

"It's okay if you tell me," Megumi said. "I understand."

Rage built up inside Ed. He couldn't believe she had just said that. The rage burst out.

"You…understand?" Ed yelled. He pushed himself off of Megumi, whose grip wasn't as tight as it was before. He closed his eyes. "You don't understand a damn thing! Your parents didn't abandon you! You…" He stopped yelling and looked at Megumi. Her eyes were full of worry and pain. But, despite this, he couldn't bring himself to stop screaming at her. "You have a better life than me! You're an idol! You have a great life!"

And with that, he ran away into a dark alley. Megumi didn't follow him, as she was deeply hurt by what he had said. Once he was sure she couldn't see him, he jumped on a trash can and then jumped on the roof of a building. He was sure Megumi couldn't see him.

"Ed-kun!" Megumi ran past him, below him in the alley. "Where are you? Ed…" Her voice trailed off as she went farther and farther away from him. Then, she ran back past him in the alley. "Ed-kun! Ed-kun…" She stopped and looked at the ground, trembling. She sat down on a street corner that Ed could see from the roof and buried her head in her hands.

Ed assumed that she was crying. He felt a little bad about what he had said. Then, he remembered the time when he had accompanied her on her day at school and work and how tough it was for her.

"Idols don't have great lives…" he said. He jumped from the building and went over to Megumi, but stood a fair distance behind her. He dropped his skateboard. The sound of the skateboard falling made Megumi turn around. Her eyes were spilling over with tears.

"Ed-kun…" she said. Before he could react, Megumi had wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. Ed hugged her back.

They walked home together. Ed leaned against Megumi's legs as they walked. He was so sleepy from yelling and skateboarding. His head drooped.

"You wanted to know what happened at that concert, right?"

Ed lifted his head back up. "I did."

"Well, there was a demon named Mars and his partner, Rembrant, who came to one of my concerts through the back entrance. He had been hunting down Tio for quite some time to burn her book. Tio was there, waiting for me to get finished with my concert. Gash-kun was there as well. He was trying to get in through another entrance because Kiyomaro-kun had left him alone, and the guards wouldn't let him in without an adult.

"Mars was attacking Tio. Fortunately, Gash-kun defended her until I came. Gash-kun left to get Kiyomaro-kun. While I was fighting, I got knocked unconscious by one of Mars's attacks.

"When I woke up, Kiyomaro-kun was fighting Mars. We worked together to burn Mars's book. Then, we made a promise that we would help each other until the end of the battle. And that's how we became friends."

Megumi heard snoring. She looked at Ed. He was sleeping against her legs. She picked him up and carried him all the way home. She had forgotten to lock the door, so she opened it, went inside, then locked and closed it. She went upstairs in Ed's room and pulled back the bed's covers. She carefully laid Ed in the bed on his back. Then, she tucked him in. She left his room, closing the door. She went in her room and collapsed on her bed, immediately falling asleep.

Tio came in Megumi's room. She pulled the covers on Megumi. Then, she went in her room and fell back asleep.

Ed dreamed about Megumi; how she cared for him, how nice she was to him.

He had to make it up to her. But how?


	8. The Quarrel of the Gang

**Chapter Eight: The Quarrel of the Gang**

Edward was all ready to go out. He had to go to the alchemy shop to buy two complete sets of alchemy books and a pair of alchemic gloves; he needed one set of alchemy books for himself and the other set and alchemic gloves for Al as a gift. He also had to go to the library to return his alchemy book and the other book he had never gotten into.

Ed realized that he didn't have any money to buy the alchemy books and alchemic gloves with. He went into Megumi's room, reached into her piggy bank, and grabbed as much yen as his pockets could hold. He thought that Megumi wouldn't mind, since she was an idol and, most likely, got paid well.

He stuffed the yen into his pockets and turned around to leave, but was met with Tio's devilish eyes. She looked like Medusa.

"What the heck are you doing?!" she yelled, lurching at Ed. Ed dodged her with ease. Tio tumbled on the ground until she ran into the wall. She quickly recovered, standing back up.

"Why are you stealing Megumi's money?!" Tio screamed.

_Even though it isn't her money, _Ed thought, _she sure is mad about it. _

"It's nothing you should be concerned about," said Ed, slowly approaching Tio. "Not at all…"

Ed grabbed Tio's arm and pulled her towards his room. Along the way, she tried to strangle him with her other hand, but Ed dodged each time. Once they were in Ed's room, Ed released Tio and closed and locked the door. He opened a drawer and took out two long-sleeved shirts and a pair of jeans. He turned around and looked at Tio with mischievous eyes.

He ran over to Tio and slipped a long-sleeved shirt on her, tying the sleeves together so she couldn't use her hands. He pushed her on the ground. She tried to kick him, but Ed caught her legs and slipped her in oversized jeans. He tied the ends of the jeans together to prevent her from walking. Then, he took another long-sleeved shirt and wrapped it around her mouth, tying the sleeves together. That way, she was unable to talk. Since he wasn't strong enough to lift Tio, he rolled her into the closet.

"Revenge for telling Megumi about my parents," said Ed. "I could've told her myself."

Tio stared at him with more devilish eyes than usual.

"Also," Ed continued, "I don't need you calling Megumi on her cell phone and telling her what I did. She'll find out eventually, but now isn't the right time. Anyways, see ya."

Ed closed the closet door. He heard Tio banging against it with her body. Ed laughed mockingly as he opened his bedroom door, locked and closed it. He walked downstairs, carrying his skateboard and alchemy book, and left the house. He skateboarded in the direction of the library.

In a secluded area, Ed passed a row of motorcycles parked in front of a liquor store. He stopped and stared at them. All of them looked shiny and new. They also looked tempting to ride.

Ed stepped off his skateboard, dropped his books, and walked over to a black motorcycle. He climbed on it and gripped the handlebars tightly. Memories of riding on his father's motorcycle swarmed his mind; he remembered holding his father around the waist, the speed of the motorcycle, and the wind whipping his face. He yearned for one more motorcycle ride with his father.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Ed started a little, then looked up at the tall, muscular man in front of him. He had studs in both ears and a nose ring. A whip was hooked on his belt. Behind him, four men of similar looks and stature stared at Ed.

"Sorry," Ed apologized, intimidated by the men's looks. "I was just…I mean…I…"

The man grabbed Ed by the collar and lifted him into the air.

"Don't touch my motorcycle," the man said. "Don't touch it… Ever…"

"You gonna do anything to him, Boss?" a man with a box-shaped scar on his forehead asked.

"Yeah…" The man called Boss threw Ed on the ground. "Help me with this piece of crap, fellas…"

All the men gathered around Ed and started beating him. They tore his shirt off and punched, kicked and stomped on him. They even unhooked their whips and whipped him.

The scarred man walked over to where Ed's skateboard and books were.

"Hey, Boss," he said, "this kid has two weird books and a skateboard."

"Break 'em," said Boss.

Ed watched in horror as the scarred man broke his skateboard in half and tore his books apart using only his hands. Then, the man ran back over to Ed and began punching him again.

"That should teach you about touching other people's stuff," Boss said. He looked at Ed's alchemic gloves. He took them off of Ed's hands.

"Gloves, huh…?" He threw the gloves on the ground and stomped on them until they were no longer usable.

Ed tried to say "stop it", but he couldn't talk because of the gang members stomping on his face.

"Boss, his pockets are full!" said a man with freakishly large ears who was touching Ed's pockets. He reached inside both of the pockets and took all the yen out. "He has a lotta yen!"

"We can use this money to buy more drinks," Boss said, snatching the yen from the large-eared man's hands and stuffing the money in his pocket.

Boss and the large-eared man continued beating Ed. Ed was flipped over by one of the gang members, and his backside was beaten. The beating seemed to go on forever to him.

"Alright, that's enough for today," Boss said. He stopped beating Ed and hooked his whip on his belt. "I think he's learned his lesson."

His gang immediately stopped beating Ed and hooked their whips. Ed had scratches and bruises all over his body. Every part of his body hurt badly, especially his rear and back. Ed had gotten a black eye from the punching and stomping.

Boss grabbed Ed by the collar again and lifted him into the air. He threw Ed against the liquor store's wall.

"If you touch any of our motorcycles again…" Boss warned.

"I…won't…" Ed weakly replied.

"Good boy. Come on, fellas."

Ed watched the gang get on their motorcycles, rev the engines, and ride away.

Ed could hardly move. When he managed to stand up, he couldn't lift his back up straight, so he had to stare at the ground as he took his broken skateboard and went into the alleyways. He sat down against the wall of a building where no one could see him. He stared at the two halves of his skateboard. If he still had his alchemic gloves, he could repair it. If he still had money, he could buy alchemic gloves to repair it. Ed placed the broken skateboard on the ground and waited for night to come.

* * *

It was past midnight. Megumi stepped out of her manager's car after a long, tiring day of work. All she wanted to do was go to sleep.

She walked over to the porch and opened an unlocked door. She had told both Ed and Tio to always keep the door locked. She walked in, ready to scold them.

"Ed-kun, Tio!" Megumi called, slipping her shoes off. "I'm home!"

There was no response.

"Ed-kun, Tio, are you two here?"

There was still no response.

But Tio had heard Megumi and was struggling to open Ed's bedroom door to go tell her what had happened. Tio had managed to open the closet door and unlock the bedroom door using her teeth. Now all she had to do was keep her balance and open the door without her hands one more time. Tio gripped the doorknob with her teeth. She turned her head sideways and pushed. The door, much to her relief, opened. She rolled out of Ed's bedroom and towards the stairs.

"Tio…?" Megumi said, confused. "Why are you tied up?"

Tio rolled down the stairs. She rolled until she ran into the wall.

"Hold on," Megumi said, walking over to Tio and bending down. "I'll untie you."

After Megumi untied Tio, putting the clothes on the staircase railing, Tio explained everything that had happened that morning.

"So…" Megumi sighed. "Ed-kun stole my yen… Figures…"

"I don't know why!" Tio said. "Plus, he _still _isn't here!"

Just then, the doorbell rang. Megumi answered it. Both she and Tio gasped when they saw Ed, bent over and badly injured. He had a broken skateboard in his hands.

"E-Ed-kun!" Megumi said, forgetting about telling Tio and Ed about leaving the door unlocked and the yen being stolen. "What happened?!"

"I had an accident," said Ed.

"What kind of accident hurts you that badly _and _breaks your skateboard?" Tio said. She thought of Ed's beating and his skateboard breaking being punishment for tying her up, so there was no longer a need to strangle him.

"I fell down the treehouse, and my skateboard hit a branch and broke."

"What _really _happened, Ed-kun?" Megumi asked.

Ed rubbed his shoes together. He didn't want to answer her.

Megumi walked over to him and gripped his sides. She pushed his back up so he stood up straight. Then, she reached in her coat pocket and pulled out an orange book.

"Since you're in a lot of pain," she said, flipping pages of the book, "I'll heal you." She stopped flipping pages. The book started glowing an orange glow, lighting up her face. She read, "Saifojio!"

Tio raised her hands in the air. A large, pink sword appeared. Knowing straightaway what was going to happen to him, Ed got scared and started shaking.

"No…" he said, staring at the sword, his eyes big and filled with fear. "I…I…I…I'm fine… Really…"

"It won't hurt at all," Megumi said, smiling.

"It'll feel like you're being stabbed," Tio said, sneering.

Megumi glared at Tio.

"…for a second," Tio quickly added.

Ed tried to run, but his weak body wouldn't let him. All he could do was watch Tio throw her arms towards him. The sword came closer and closer with each second. Ed was petrified. Just as Tio had said, Ed felt himself being stabbed. He stepped back more into the dark, cloudy night by the force of the sword. Ed closed his eyes as relief and comfort spread throughout his body. His eye gradually felt better. The pain was gone.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Megumi said, closing the orange book and putting it back in her coat pocket. "Now, why don't you come inside and explain what happened?" She moved aside.

Ed walked in, and Megumi closed and locked the door behind him. Ed looked at the ground and rubbed his shoes together again. He couldn't tell Megumi what had happened with the gang. Tio wouldn't care, but she liked the drama, and was just going to watch them to be entertained.

"Well?"

Tio smirked as she watched Ed bolt for his room. He ran as fast as he could. He made it into his room and almost closed the door, but a strong force kept him from doing so.

"Ed-kun," Megumi said, "why don't you just tell me about it? I'll do everything I can to resolve the problem."

"It's not your problem, Megumi…" said Ed. "I can handle it myself…"

He didn't know why he pushed against the door; it was evident that Megumi was stronger than him. He gave up and stopped pushing the door. Megumi, caught off guard by the sudden letup, stumbled into the room and almost fell, catching herself using the bed. Ed barely dodged her and the swinging door.

"Come on, Ed-kun," Megumi said, turning around to look at Ed. "You can tell me."

Ed just stared at the ground.

"Seriously, Ed-kun, when you're injured like that, you need to say something."

"It's nothing for you to be worried about," Ed said, looking at Megumi.

"It is when you're beaten like that!"

"It's something you can't handle."

Megumi was surprised by Ed's choice of words.

"You don't know until you tell me," she said.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I just can't."

Megumi sighed. "You know that I_ always _find out somehow."

And with that, she left Ed's room.

* * *

Tio slept, not knowing that Ed had woken up earlier than usual that morning and was stealing more of Megumi's money. Ed stuffed the money into both pockets and left to go to the library and pay them for the two ruined books. He still had to buy two complete sets of alchemy books and two pairs of alchemic gloves. Since he had been beaten down so badly yesterday, Ed thought that the gang wouldn't prey on him again.

Ed left the house and walked towards the library. The liquor store came into view. Ed stopped dead in his tracks. Unfortunately, the gang was sitting outside, drinking beer. One of the gang members had seen Ed. It was a man with a tattoo on his neck.

"Hey, Boss," the tattooed man said, "it's that kid from yesterday."

Ed knew he couldn't get out of it now. He walked over to the gang.

"Well, well, well," Boss said. "You're back. I'm surprised."

"Didn't we beat him up yesterday?" the scarred man said.

"I know we did," the tattooed man said. "Where'd all his bruises go?"

"I recover quickly," Ed lied.

"Hm," Boss said. "Well then, how about you ride my black motorcycle?"

The gang members were shocked by their leader's unexpected proposal. They began saying, "What the hell are you thinking, Boss?!" and, "I thought you didn't want anyone on your motorcycle but yourself", but were silenced by Boss's thundering voice yelling, "Shut up!"

"Do you really mean it?" Ed asked.

"Yup. You can drive it by yourself."

"But I don't know how to and I'm not old enough to drive… And why do you want me on your motorcycle now when you didn't want me touching it before?"

"No one comes around here, so no one will know. And the motorcycle is easy to use, so it'll be self-explanatory. I'm letting you ride it as a truce. We overreacted yesterday, and we're very sorry."

Boss glanced at his gang members. All of them said their apologies as sincerely as possible. Then, Boss went over to his motorcycle and lifted it, turning it around towards the street.

"There ya go," he said. "All ready for ya."

Ed thought it could be a hoax, but he wanted to ride a motorcycle badly; to feel the speed and the wind whip his face. He walked over to the motorcycle and climbed on it. He made himself comfortable and gripped the handlebars. Ed pressed the gas pedal too hard and the motorcycle zoomed away. He was thrown off and slid on the pavement, the motorcycle slowly coming to a stop and the yen coming out of his pockets. Boss picked up the trailing yen as Ed lay on the ground. Ed flinched with pain until he felt something burning his skin. He opened his eyes and saw that flames were all over him. He rolled on the ground, and the flames gradually went out. But, unfortunately, all his clothes were gone, burned off by the flames. There was only a thin strip of clothing left, which Ed used to cover his rear and area between his legs.

The gang laughed the whole time. The members said, "Good one, Boss!" and "What a dumbass!" Ed, embarrassed, stood up and ran into the alleyways. As he was running, he heard Boss say, "Don't be so naïve next time, kid!"

Ed hid himself in between two trash cans. He had to, once again, hide there until the middle of the night, when everyone was asleep.

To make matters worse, after Ed had waited for a few hours, it started pouring rain. Following the rain was thunder and lightning. Ed had nothing to cover his head with, so he endured the rain and terrifying thunder and lightning. But, somehow, he managed to fall asleep.

"So this is where you were."

Ed's eyes were forced open. Megumi stood in front of him. She held an umbrella over herself and wore her green jacket. She also carried a flashlight, which she examined Ed carefully with.

"Ed-kun…" she said, concern in her voice. "Why are you out in the rain without any clothes? And you're burned and bruised very badly… It's worse than before."

Ed blushed. He was more embarrassed in front of Megumi than he was in front of the gang.

"What time is it…?" he said sleepily.

"It's past midnight," Megumi said. "I got worried, so I went out to look for you. I told Tio to stay in the house just in case you came back. Anyway, what happened to you?"

Ed just stared at his feet. He couldn't make anything up for this.

"Here, hold this," Megumi said, handing Ed her umbrella. She took off her jacket and threw it on Ed. She took her umbrella back and held it over Ed and herself. Ed stood up and put the oversized jacket on. It dragged on the ground as he and Megumi walked home.

"Even after you've been hurt to the point where your clothes are gone," said Megumi, "you're _still _not going to tell me what's going on?"

Ed kept quiet, and, although she was very curious and worried, Megumi didn't press him anymore; she would find out soon, anyway. When they got home, Megumi called Tio to use Saifojio on him again.

Ed lay on the ground so he wouldn't get knocked back. The pain quickly subsided, and his burns and bruises disappeared. As soon as it was over, Ed ran towards his room.

"You can do that all you want," Megumi said as he ran, "but I assure you that I _will _find out."

Ed ignored her and closed his bedroom door.

* * *

Ed had to get it done today. Once again, he made sure he woke up earlier than Tio. After he had taken off Megumi's jacket and changed into his clothes, he went into Megumi's room again and took her yen, throwing her jacket on her bed. He left the house and walked towards the library.

The gang sat outside the liquor store again. They laughed and talked. Boss saw Ed.

"You don't know when to give up, do you?" Boss said. "Persistent little brat…"

The gang members had taken notice to Ed, too. They stared at him with scowls on their faces.

"I'm not letting you get me today, tomorrow, or ever again," said Ed. "I'll get revenge for breaking my skateboard, ripping my book, and taking my yen."

"Oh, really?" Boss stood up and walked towards Ed, cracking his knuckles. "Come on, fellas, let's teach this kid one last lesson…"

The rest of the gang stood up and walked towards Ed. Ed was still intimidated, but he ran towards them, ready to try and beat them. In the back of his mind, he knew that he'd get beaten even worse than before, but his will to give Al the gifts was too strong.

Someone ran in front of Ed. Ed slid to a stop, almost running into her. The gang stopped as well; they were just as flustered as Ed. Ed looked the girl up and down, recognizing her features to be those of Megumi's.

"M-Megumi!" he said. "How did you…?"

Megumi turned around and looked at Ed. "Don't worry, Ed-kun," she assured him. "I'll take care of this."

"Who are you?!" Boss demanded.

"Did you take my friend's yen?" Megumi said, ignoring Boss's question.

Ed was surprised that she said "my friend's yen" instead of her own yen.

"Your…_friend…_?" Boss said.

"Did you take it or not?" Megumi dismissed Boss's question again.

"Yeah, we did, and we were just about to duke it out."

"I think you'd better go, little lady," the scarred man said. "Before you get hurt."

"Give him his yen back," said Megumi, "then I'll leave."

"You asked for it," Boss said, throwing his fist towards Megumi. Megumi caught it with one hand. Everyone, even Boss, got wide-eyed.

"You really shouldn't underestimate me," she said, gripping Boss's wrist with her free hand and throwing him on the ground.

"She's hardcore…" the tattooed man said.

"Aikido…" the scarred man said. "She knows aikido!"

"I-I don't think we can beat her, Boss!" a man with a goatee said. "…B-Boss?"

Boss stayed facefirst on the ground. He seemed to be paralyzed.

"Hey, Boss!" the big-eared man said, "Can you get up?!"

Boss didn't say anything. He twitched and stood up.

"You may have gotten me that time," he said, "but you won't get me again. Come on, fellas!"

Ed watched, dumbfounded, as Megumi countered all of the gang's attacks by slamming, striking, and thrusting all of them. One after the other, the gang members gave up and fled. Once Megumi had scared all of them away, she turned and looked at a bewildered Ed.

Ed reached into his pockets and took the yen out. Megumi took the yen and put it in her pockets.

"Come on, I'll buy what you lost," she said.

"Th-Thanks… I don't need a new skateboard. Once we get the alchemic gloves, I can repair it."

Megumi nodded. Ed followed her to the library. There, Megumi paid the money needed to make up for the alchemy book, and Ed checked out a book to read. Afterwards, they went to the alchemy shop and bought two complete sets of alchemy books and two pairs of alchemic gloves. They began walking home.

"How did you know about the gang?" Ed asked. "And what about school and work?"

"It's Saturday," Megumi said, "and I don't have work until later on today."

Ed smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. He had forgotten that it was the start of the weekend and that he should've waited until Monday to go out. He faintly knew that Megumi would do something like this.

"I waited outside for you to leave because I know that you go out everyday, and I needed to know what you kept getting beat up by. I followed you using the alleys."

Ed was surprised that she had used the alleys to follow him.

"Next time, Ed-kun," she continued, "when you're beaten like that, please tell me. You won't get in trouble."

"I knew I wouldn't have gotten in trouble," said Ed.

"Why didn't you tell me, then?"

"Well...you're a girl."

"W-What? What do you mean?"

"You're a girl, and girls shouldn't be fighting."

"Stop being a sexist, Ed-kun. Girls can do anything boys are capable of." After a pause, Megumi said, "You know what? If you really don't want a girl defending you, I'll teach you what I used to beat that gang: judo and aikido. My father taught me how."

"Thanks, but you really don't have to… It probably won't happen again."

"You never know. Better to be safe than sorry, right?"

They arrived home and went inside. Tio was sleeping on the couch in the living room. She had left the T.V. on. Megumi went in her room and checked her piggy bank. Ed ran towards his room, knowing what was coming.

"Ed-kun…" Megumi said. "How much of my money did you take?"

"A lot," Ed said, closing his bedroom door and locking it.

"No, you're not going to get in trouble." Megumi walked in front of his bedroom door. "I was just asking about it."

"I'm not in trouble?" Ed asked for assurance.

"Not at all. Money isn't really a concern for me, so you didn't need to steal it. You just had to _ask_."

"I can't get out of my old habits." Ed opened his bedroom door.

"Well, try not to steal anymore. And make sure you read your book."

"I will. And…thanks again."

"You're welcome. Now, why don't you give Al-kun his gifts?"

"Okay!"

Megumi watched Ed put his things in his room and run out the front door, all five alchemy books and gloves in hand. She went downstairs and looked out the window beside the front door, waiting for her manager to come and pick her up for work. It would be a challenge, but she would be able to teach him martial arts. Megumi looked forward to the next day, and so did Ed.


	9. The Quarrel of Martial Arts

**Chapter Nine: The Quarrel of Martial Arts**

Ed was having the best sleep he had had in days. His encounter with the gang had worn him out both physically and emotionally, and he just wanted to sleep all day. He would've, too, if it hadn't been for Megumi.

"Ed-kun!" she said enthusiastically, pulling the covers off Ed. "It's time to get up!"

"Sunday…" Ed mumbled. He was hardly awake. "Sleep…"

"You said you wanted me to teach you judo and aikido, remember?" Megumi's voice was a little annoying to Ed. It came out as high-pitched, practically sounding like an alarm clock.

"Sunday means sleep…" Ed pulled the covers back on him. Megumi pulled them off and sat on them.

"I _have _to teach you today, Ed-kun. I won't get another chance until next week, and by then, both of us will probably have forgotten."

"I won't forget… Next Saturday…"

"_Today, _Ed-kun. It needs to be done _today." _There was firmness in her voice.

Ed repeatedly tried to pull the covers back on him, but failed each time. He lifted his head and looked at Megumi sitting on them. He put his head back down and curled up, his arms hugging his knees, his knees pressing against his chest.

"I'm cold, Megumi…" he whined.

"I'm sure you don't want me to drag you out by your ear..."

Ed jerked himself up and bolted into the bathroom. Megumi smiled and walked down the stairs. Tio was already sitting on the steps. Megumi had woken her up earlier that morning so she could help with the lesson. Megumi sat on the steps next to her. Soon, they saw Ed drag himself down the stairs. Megumi put on her sunglasses and lead the way outside. Ed shuffled down the street beside Megumi.

"Where are we going to practice?" Ed asked.

"I found a nice, desolate field while I was walking home from work," Megumi said. "It looked very peaceful, and I thought it would be nice if we practiced there."

"Why couldn't we just go to a dojo? Practicing there would be a lot easier."

"There aren't any dojos in town," Tio said. "Besides, practicing alone is much better."

Ed didn't think so, but he wasn't in the mood for arguing, so he changed the subject. "Why's Tio with us?"

"You need someone to practice on," Megumi said. "You can't lift me up."

As she said this, she and Tio walked towards the sidewalk. Ed ambled after them.

"But I'll be able to throw you after this, right?!"

"Well…"

"Right?!" Ed prodded eagerly.

"Of course not," Tio said. "You can hardly lift me up."

Ed scowled at Tio. "Who asked you, you devil?"

Tio almost strangled him, but Megumi was walking between them and caught her by the collar before she could grip Ed's neck.

"Hey, hey…" Megumi said. "Let's try and get along… For today, anyway."

Tio still stared at Ed with devilish eyes. Ed knew that he'd probably get strangled later for saying that. He took his mind off of being suffocated and thought about being able to throw Megumi after learning martial arts. With so much power, he could do whatever he wanted: stealing from the alchemy shop, staying out late, throwing Tio down the stairs… The possibilities were endless.

"Ed-kun!"

Ed turned around. He saw Megumi and Tio waiting for him on a dirt road. He ran over to them, and they walked down the dirt road. Ed noticed the dirt road gradually disappear and grass take its place. Sunflowers and blue pansies began appearing.

"This is it," Megumi said, sitting down on the grass. Ed sat across from her, Tio next to her.

"So, what're you gonna teach me first?" Ed asked.

"Hmm…" Megumi thought for a moment. "Let's start with judo. Now, judo is just…"

Ed looked at a ladybug crawling towards his right hand. He stuck out his index finger, and the ladybug climbed on it. He slowly lifted the hand the ladybug crawled on and connected it with his left hand. He watched the ladybug cross over to his other hand. He carefully lowered that hand to the ground, and the ladybug wormed down the hand to a blade of grass. It slid down the long blade and continued its trek through the field.

"Ed-kun, are you paying attention?"

Ed returned to his senses and looked up at Megumi. "Y-Yeah."

"Then what did I just say?"

"Um…something about judo…"

"I said that judo is mostly strikes and thrusts. Pay attention from now on, okay?"

"I will."

"Now, let's get back to judo," Megumi said. "Rather than explain what the techniques are, I'll show you a basic one." She looked at Tio. Tio, knowing the cue, stood up. Megumi stood up just enough so that she was eye-to-eye with her. Tio gripped Megumi's upper arm. It looked like she was going to throw Megumi, but Megumi seized her upper arm and threw her onto the ground as gently as possible. Tio fell on her back.

"That didn't hurt too badly, did it, Tio?" Megumi said.

"Nope," Tio replied, immediately standing back up.

"That was one of the Gokyo no Waza, or five sets of techniques," Megumi explained. "It's just standard judo throwing. That particular technique is called De-ashi-harai. Now, why don't you try, Ed-kun?"

While she said this, Ed's head drooped, and his eyes began to close.

"…Ed-kun? Are you going to try De-ashi-harai on Tio?"

Ed lifted his head, his eyes becoming distant. "Yeah, make sure you get me a cup…"

Tio and Megumi stared at Ed, flustered. Megumi saw Ed's eyes close and him slouch, his head drooping.

"Are you awake, Ed-kun?" she asked.

Ed twitched, and then opened his eyes. He sat up. "Oh, shoot. Sorry about that. I'm up now."

"You saw what Tio and I demonstrated, right?"

"Yeah. I heard Gokyo no Waza, and then I fell asleep."

"It's called De-ashi harai, which is part of the Gokyo no Waza. Go ahead and try it on Tio."

Ed walked over to Tio. Tio put her hands on his upper arms like she did with Megumi. She examined Ed carefully.

"I never noticed how...short you were," she teased.

"Pipsqueak…" Ed growled. Instead of exploding like he usually did, he gripped Tio's upper arms and flipped her hard onto the ground exactly the way Megumi demonstrated. This time, she landed on her side. Both she and Megumi were surprised.

"Wow, Ed-kun!" Megumi praised. "You did it!"

"I'm…not a pipsqueak…" Ed grumbled.

Tio stayed on the ground. She was flabbergasted at Ed's real strength. He had thrown her pretty hard, and it did hurt. She stood up.

"Did that hurt badly, Tio?" Megumi said.

Tio didn't answer and started rubbing her right arm.

"…Okay… Now, let's continue…"

* * *

The sky glowed orange as Megumi, Ed, and Tio walked home. Ed thought about his lesson. He had caught on to almost every technique Tio and Megumi showed him. He paid attention and tried to stay interested. Megumi taught him a little bit of aikido as well. When Ed tried aikido moves with Tio, he got it confused with judo a few times, but was eventually able to understand it and use the moves correctly and effectively. Tio was in quite some pain afterwards. Ed knew she was getting hurt, but didn't care, and enjoyed seeing her in pain. After a while, Megumi saw Tio's pain by her scrunched up face and her hands rubbing her right thigh and arm, so Megumi told Ed not to throw her as hard.

"But I'm not throwing her that hard, Megumi!" Ed had argued. "She's just being a wussie!"

Tio stopped rubbing her thigh and arm and reached for Ed's neck, but her arms were hurting so bad that she winced, stopped reaching for his neck, and continued to massage her arm and leg.

"Ed-kun…" Megumi's eyes became serious again.

Ed rolled his eyes and threw her as gently as he could from then on.

Megumi had said that they would practice again next week to focus more on aikido, even though she was a little reluctant to, due to the possibility that they may forget. However, Tio came up with the brilliant idea that she should mark it on her calendar, so Megumi promised herself that she would when they arrived home. They were more than halfway home when Megumi checked her watch.

"Darn, I'm running late for work!" she said. "Tio, Ed-kun, I have to leave for work now. Go straight home and don't wander around, okay?"

"Right," Tio said.

"Got it," Ed said, nodding.

Megumi ran towards the house. Ed waited until she was out of sight, then turned around and walked in the opposite direction of the house.

"Megumi said no wandering around!" Tio said.

"I know," Ed said nonchalantly, putting his hands behind his head. "I'm just going for a walk."

"Well…" Tio was a little afraid of going out alone at night. When she was out that late, she was always with Megumi. "I'm going with you."

Tio caught up with Ed and walked alongside him. The moon was rising and the stars began to appear. The streetlights flashed on and off.

"I don't think we're supposed to be out this late…" Tio said. Ed heard a little fear in her voice, but decided not to tease her about it. Her getting thrown around all day and again next week was enough satisfaction for him.

"Meh, I don't care," Ed said coolly.

"What if we get in trouble?"

"We'll be back before Megumi, I promise. By the way, where's Megumi going?"

"A concert."

Ed nodded. He knew that she'd be back late because of that, so he could be out for a few hours.

Tio and Ed were unaware of the man walking across the street. He was tall and muscular with studs in both ears and a nose ring. He walked in the same direction as Tio and Ed, waiting for the perfect moment to ambush Ed as vengeance for bringing the girl to beat him and his gang up. He didn't bring any of his members with him. As the gang leader, he had taken full responsibility for the incident and had to do this alone.

They were now walking on a block with no streetlights. The boy and the small, feeble-looking girl next to him wouldn't see what was coming. Boss ran across the street towards them, unhooking his whip.

Tio heard footsteps gradually getting louder. She stopped and looked at Ed. Ed stopped and looked back at her, his eyes a little fearful. He knew.

Both of them looked in the direction of the footsteps and only saw a shadow running towards them. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't make out who it was; but as the figure got closer, Ed and Tio could see his face. Ed recognized the man's studded ears and nose ring. His hand was raised, and within it was a whip.

"Boss!" Ed cried as the man threw his whip towards him. The whip slapped Ed in the leg, and before he could reach down to caress it, he was kicked hard in the stomach. He was knocked onto the grass of a nearby house's lawn. He slid to a stop and lay there, trying to recover from the hit. Tio watched the whole time.

"W-Who…?" Tio had never been told about the whole situation with the gang. She got the idea that the man was merely a mugger and latched onto him, cupping her hands tightly around his neck. Boss's neck stretched out.

Despite the pain, Ed managed to pick himself up. He ran over to where Boss stood, Tio's legs wrapped around the middle of his stomach, her hands twisting his neck, and watched the struggling duo: Boss was trying to pry Tio off with his large hands, and it was working. Tio had a difficult time trying to stay latched on to him. Boss's hand crawled under Tio's fingers on her left hand, and Tio's hand slipped. Boss used the same hand to grab Tio's slipping hand and toss her behind him. Tio landed at someone's feet. She peered up and saw Megumi, the expression on her face both serious and worried. Tio, Ed, and Boss all hadn't realized Megumi's manager's car parked on the other side of the street.

"Megumi…?" Tio said. "How…?"

"I was riding past, and I saw you two," Megumi said. "You forgot that the concert hall is the way you two were apparently heading."

Meanwhile, Ed confronted Boss alone, unknowing about Megumi's arrival.

"Why?" he said.

"Revenge is sweet," Boss said, sneering. "And a short kid like you can't do anything to me."

Ed held his head down. "Shrimp… I am _not_ a shrimp…" He walked up to Boss, grabbed both his arms with his hands, digging into them with his fingernails, and flipped Boss as hard as he could onto the ground. Ed stared at Boss, his eyes filled with rage. Boss returned Ed's gaze, but his eyes were wide with fear; he was appalled at Ed's strength.

Megumi and Tio were just as surprised as Boss was. Tio's mouth was hanging open, and Megumi was speechless. They could understand Ed lifting Tio, but a heavy man that had to weigh over two hundred pounds was a different story. It became apparent to them that whenever someone insulted Ed's size, he could instantly become stronger than whoever had offended him.

Ed calmed himself down by taking a deep breath. He looked up and saw Megumi and Tio standing side by side. He knew he was in trouble, but walked over to them anyway. As he walked towards them, Tio closed her mouth and stood up, and Megumi regained her composure.

"What happened?" Megumi demanded. "And why are you farther away from the house?"

Ed scratched his head. "Well, uh…I was going for a walk, and Tio came with me. And then the leader of the gang ambushed us."

"Gang?" Tio had gotten confused. "That was the leader of a gang, not a mugger?"

"Ed-kun got beat up before because of a gang," Megumi explained. "I stopped them, and the leader must've come back for revenge." She looked at Ed, and he nodded.

Megumi had figured out why Boss had done it even before Ed had explained it to her. But he wasn't so surprised because he already knew how she knew—girl instinct.

"And I told both of you not to stray!" Megumi said.

"I know, I know," Ed retorted. "Sorry that I'm adventurous."

Megumi ignored Ed's comment. "You two are coming with me to work. Come on."

Tio and Ed reluctantly walked away. They were in the middle of the street when Boss broke the silence with his thunderous voice. "I'm not done yet! I'll—" He stopped talking when Megumi turned around and stared at him. He dropped his whip, his eyes becoming wide with fear again. "I'll…I'll…I'll go… I-I'll…leave you alone…" With that, Boss turned around and ran the opposite way of where Tio, Ed, and Megumi were going.

"Well, we shouldn't be seeing him anymore," Megumi said.

"Yep," Ed said. "The end."

They walked over to the car, and Megumi opened the door. Tio and Ed slid in first, Megumi following them. Megumi closed the door, and her manager began driving to the concert hall.

As they rode, Ed thought about the mysterious girl instinct. It made all girls seem so smart, and all girls had it. He couldn't get it off his mind. He had to know more about girls.


	10. The Quarrel of Curiosity

**Chapter Ten: The Quarrel of Curiosity**

_Girl instinct… _Ed thought as he, Megumi, and Tio rode home from the concert. _What exactly is girl instinct? _He looked at Tio beside him sleeping with her mouth hanging open, and Megumi staring out the window._ Should I ask them?_ Ed began debating with himself whether or not to ask.

Megumi had sensed Ed's worries. She turned around. "Something bothering you, Ed-kun?"

"N-No…" Ed said, startled. "No…"

Megumi was a little skeptical, but she left the subject alone, looking out the window again. Before she knew it, they were home. After Megumi woke Tio up, Tio immediately went into the bathroom upstairs. Ed started climbing the stairs to go into his room. As he climbed, the answer hit him like a bullet: Winry.

"Hey, Ed-kun…" Megumi called. "Before you go to bed…"

Ed stopped, his left foot one step higher than he was, and turned around.

"Tomorrow's an in-service for the teachers at my school, and I took off work so I can go out with Tio. I haven't been spending much time with her lately, so tomorrow's dedicated to her."

"Do I have to come?"

"You're not allowed to come, Ed-kun. It's girls only."

That was the perfect opportunity to learn more about girls—what they do, what they talk about, everything. Ed briefly etched out a plan in his head. He interrupted himself midway, realizing that not getting a little angry would be kind of awkward, so he said, "Fine. Gash, Kiyomaro, Al, Umagon and I are going out on a boys only thing tomorrow, then!"

Megumi smiled. "That's okay with me." She paused. "Oh, that's right. I stopped by Winry's yesterday while rushing to my manager's car. She's agreed to come with us."

That wasn't good. Ed was going to ask Winry about girls tomorrow. He had absolutely no idea what to do to ask her before she left.

"Okay then," Ed said, continuing to climb the stairs. "I'm going to bed."

"Good night, Ed-kun."

"'Night, Megumi." Ed closed his bedroom door. He leaned against it, thinking about what to do. He suddenly remembered the alchemy books and alchemic gloves he was keeping under his bed. He walked over to the bed, bent down, and reached for the first volume. After accidentally picking up the fifth and third volumes, he got the first volume and his knapsack of supplies. He turned the light on and flipped through the pages, looking for the sleeping pills so Megumi would have a deeper sleep and wouldn't hear him sneaking out of the house. He eventually found the page they were on and took out a sleep-aiding pill and an aspirin from the knapsack.

He needed to get a glass of water. He opened his bedroom door a little and poked his head out. Megumi's bedroom door was closed, so he assumed that she had already gone to sleep. The bathroom door was open, so Tio was already asleep. He left his room and tiptoed down the stairs, trying not to make a sound; he didn't want to wake Megumi up.

He finally touched the floor after what had seemed like an eternity. He casually walked into the kitchen, opened the cupboard, took out a glass, and filled it with tap water. He went out of the kitchen and climbed the stairs more carefully than before, not only so he wouldn't make noise, but also so he wouldn't spill the water.

That trip seemed longer than the last. He practically ran into his bedroom and closed the door. He immediately alchemized the sleeping pill.

Now came the hard part. He needed to go into Megumi's room and somehow make her take the sleeping pill. He opened the door again and crept to Megumi's bedroom door. He put his hand on the handle and slowly turned it. To his relief, there wasn't a sound as the handle was turned all the way down and he opened the door.

Ed walked over to the dresser, took Megumi's cell phone, and put it in the same pocket the pill was in. He needed to inspect it for anything that could revealing about girls.

He looked at Megumi lying on her stomach, her hands at her sides. That made his job even more difficult; he had to lift her head to make her gulp the pills. Even though he knew she would probably wake up, he had to try.

Ed snuck over to Megumi's bed. He stuffed the pills in his pocket, put his warm hands on the cheek that was facing up, and wormed under her head with his other hand until it laid on her other cheek. He was about to lift her head when Megumi's eyes opened a little.

"E-Ed-kun...?" she said, still a little drowsy. Ed quickly slid his hands off her. "Ed-kun!" She was fully awake now. "What're you doing here?"

Before Ed could lie, Megumi guessed at what the answer was.

"Oh, you were having a nightmare, weren't you?"

Ed blushed. He remembered his parents letting him sleep with them when he had a nightmare. He imagined what could happen if he _did _have a nightmare. He felt his whole face grow hot. He shook the image from his mind. He had to stay focused and not give anything away.

"Why were you blushing like that, Ed-kun?" Megumi asked, becoming suspicious. "Were you trying to do something perverted to me?"

"If I was, I'm sorry," Ed began his lie. He tried to seem as confused as possible. "I didn't realize… I don't remember anything…"

"You sleepwalk?"

"I guess so…"

"I didn't know that. Well, just go back to bed. It doesn't seem like a major problem, so there shouldn't be any more interruptions."

Ed purposely didn't close Megumi's door on his way out. Fortunately, Megumi was already back asleep and didn't notice. He went into his room and sat on the bed. He reached into his pocket and threw the pill in the trash can next to the nightstand.

He took out the cell phone. He pressed a button, and it lit up. He checked the contacts list, but there was just the phone numbers of her co-workers, Kiyomaro, Folgore, and Sunbeam.

He looked at the photos and saw various pictures of Megumi, Kiyomaro, Gash, and Tio, her and Tio, and her, Al, and Winry.

Finally, he checked her messages. Unfortunately, there were just messages from her co-workers and Kiyomaro asking her to come to his house to discuss something about demons.

He sighed and put the cell phone back on Megumi's dresser. He closed the door and went back in his room, sitting on his bed. He closed his eyes and pondered how he would follow the girls. He soon fell asleep without knowing it.

* * *

Ed woke up earlier than Tio and Megumi to go to Winry's. He left his room and ran downstairs, not trying to be quiet. He opened the door, and was about to leave, when he was caught.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Ed turned around. Megumi stood at the top of the stairs, still in her pajamas, her hands on her hips.

"Us guys like to start the day off early," Ed said.

Megumi smiled. "Oh, is that so? Well then, I'll see you later on today, Ed-kun." She walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

Ed proceeded to Winry's house, glad that Megumi hadn't questioned him further. When he got there, he rang the doorbell, and, to his relief, Winry answered it. She was dressed and ready to go.

"Hi, Ed!" she greeted him. "What're you doing here so early?"

"Megumi said that you and Tio and her are going out," Ed said. "Are you guys really…?"

"Yep."

"Okay, then… Um…this may seem random, but…what exactly is girl instinct?"

"Girl instinct? Girl instinct…" Winry smirked. "Girl instinct…is something that only girls have."

"I know that. I wanna know _exactly _it is."

"Sorry, that's all you're gonna get out of me." Winry closed the door.

Ed stared at the door for a minute. Even someone as straightforward as Winry wouldn't tell him. He decided to go get Al.

"Hey, Ed," Al said once he had answered the door. He, too, was dressed. "You're up early. Is something wrong?"

"Very," Ed said. "Girls."

"Girls? What's wrong with girls?"

"There's something up with them, and you're gonna help me find out what."

"I don't think that's a very good idea… Besides, you could just ask a girl like Megumi-san, Tio, or Winry."

"I tried asking Winry, but she told me what I already knew... That only girls have it. And Megumi and Tio…they'll just tease me. Besides, I wanna know what they do when boys aren't around."

Al sighed. "Fine, I'll help."

"Awesome. Now, here's what we're gonna do…"

* * *

"Can you hear me, Al?" Ed spoke through the walkie-talkie he alchemized.

"Yeah," Al replied. "Can you hear me?"

"Yep. You're behind the house, right?"

"Right. You're…"

"Inside the house. Remember to follow them as closely, but secretively, as possible. Don't say anything until they're out of earshot. You can't get caught, or else…" Ed gulped. "Tio could really kill us."

"Alright." Al saw Megumi, Tio, and Winry walking down the street. "They're leaving." He listened closely.

"So, Tio," Megumi said, putting her sunglasses on, "where do you want to go?"

"The beach!" Tio answered.

"That sounds fun!" Winry said.

"Beach it is," Megumi said.

Al told Ed where the girls were going. He ended with, "I don't think this'll reveal anything about girls... See, Megumi-san, Winry, Tio…they're all different ages, and I don't think Megumi-san would talk about anything real girly unless she was with peers or alone with Winry… You see what I'm saying?"

Ed was impressed. "What you said sounded…knowledgeable. You know about girls, Al?"

"Not really. I don't spend much time around any girls except Winry."

_Winry wasn't that girly when she was around Al and I_, Ed thought,_but since she's with two other girls, she might be more girly around them_. "Keep following them, Al. I really think that we can find something out from this."

"Got it." Al continued to eavesdrop.

* * *

Tio was happy to have a day just for her, like her birthday. It was better than going to another one of Megumi's concerts, tours, anything else Megumi had to do, or staying home with Ed.

"By the way…" Winry started. "Ed came over to my house and asked me if I were going with you two."

"We don't need to worry about him," Megumi said. "He said he was going to have a boys only outing with some of his friends, including Al-kun."

"But I think he might be following us. I mean, it's possible."

"Following…?" Tio growled.

"Don't worry, Tio," Megumi said to stop her from going on an all-out rage. "I'll go and see if anyone's following us."

Megumi checked behind people's houses, in bushes, trees, everywhere she thought Ed could've hidden. She was looking behind a house when she heard something rustle behind the fence. She stood on her toes and scanned the area. There was nothing but a bush behind the fence. It shook.

"Who's there?" Megumi called.

No answer, just more rustling.

Megumi climbed over the fence and stuck her hand in the bush. She felt something lick it. She touched the something and felt fur. She gently took both its sides and pulled it out. It was a cat. Megumi smiled and put it back down. She watched it run across the field into the distance, and then returned to Tio and Winry.

"Nobody's following us," she reported.

"We should still be on the lookout, though," Winry said.

"Right," Tio agreed. "If Ed's following us, I'll…I'll…" She balled her hand into a fist.

* * *

Al was behind a tree in the corner of a backyard. He breathed a sigh of relief, glad that Megumi didn't catch him.

"They're suspicious, Ed!" Al said in the walkie-talkie. "What do I do?"

"Don't panic," Ed replied, digging in a box of CDs in Megumi's basement. "Just stay alert and stealthy."

"Okay." Al stood up and continued following the girls. "How are things on your end?"

"I haven't found anything girly in the house yet. I'll be going to Kiyomaro's house to ask him about girls, although it'll be hard; he and everyone else in that house are all boys—except his mother and Umagon, who's a horse."

"Who's house? And what about a horse?"

"Kiyomaro Takamine's, and Umagon, their pet horse."

"Pet...horse? How can they keep a horse...?"

"Oh, yeah, you've never met him and his 'family.'"

"No." Al saw the girls come into view. He slowed down. "I see them, so I'll be listening."

"Alright, good luck." Ed turned the walkie-talkie off. He finished his house inspection, sadly not finding anything, and went to Kiyomaro's house. Umagon's doghouse was empty.

Ed knocked, and Hana answered the door.

"Hello, Ed-kun," she said. "Kiyomaro doesn't have school today because the teachers are having an in-service, so you can talk to him as well as Gash-chan and Umagon."

"Well, actually," Ed started, "I wanted to ask you something."

"Yes, what is it?"

"Um…" Ed was a little nervous about asking her. "Why do girls…know everything?"

"We don't know everything, but we do have girl instinct, which tells us a lot."

Ed couldn't believe it. Even someone as sophisticated as Kiyomaro's mother said that girls had girl instinct.

"Are you coming in?" Hana asked, moving aside.

"Uh…yeah…" Ed waddled in, and then ran straight into Kiyomaro's room. Umagon and Kiyomaro were so surprised that Umagon knocked down the blocks that were stacked up while putting his head near them, and Kiyomaro's chair tipped back and fell.

"You could've knocked!" Kiyomaro yelled, clearly annoyed.

"Meru-meru-me!" Umagon agreed.

"Hi, Ed!" Gash ignored Ed's startling interruption, not perturbed by it at all. He held up Vulcan. "Wanna play?"

"Um…sure…" Ed said, scratching his head. "But first, what do you all know about girls?"

Umagon shook his head while Kiyomaro positioned the chair correctly and sat back down in it and Gash stared at Ed blankly.

"That's okay, Umagon," Ed said, smiling. He looked at Kiyomaro and Gash. "What about you two?"

"Girls…?" Gash went into deep thought. After about a minute, he said, "I don't know!"

Ed let out a heavy sigh. "Kiyomaro, you're smart."

Kiyomaro sat up straight.

"Do you know anything at all about girls and girl instinct?"

"Girl instinct?" Kiyomaro said. "Girl instinct…" He paused. "Who told you about girl instinct, Ed?"

"Megumi said it first, then Tio, then-"

"Has it ever occurred to you that they might just be screwing around with you?"

"They can't be, because even your mother said that it existed."

"My _mother_ did?"

"Sure did. So, do you know anything at all about girls?"

"My _mother _said...my _mother..._"

"If you can't answer, then..."

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that. Anyway, I...guess I don't know anything about girls."

_Now I can only rely on Al. _Ed thought. "Alrighty," he said, looking at Gash and Umagon, "Gash, Umagon, I'll play with you guys."

Gash's face lit up, and Umagon grinned, showing his bucked teeth.

* * *

Al had arrived at the beach along with Megumi, Tio, and Winry. Tio started running towards the beach. Winry ran after her.

"Hold on, you two," Megumi called after them.

Tio and Winry slid to a stop and turned around.

"We need to put on bathing suits."

"Oops," Tio said, looking at her red and pink dress. "I forgot."

"Come on," Megumi said, walking towards the nearby beach house. Tio and Winry ran after her.

Al turned his walkie-talkie on and hid in the corner of the beach, still able to see everything well. "They're at the beach."

Meanwhile, at Kiyomaro's house, Gash, Umagon, and Kiyomaro stared at Ed, knowing that the strange voice had come from him. Ed was keeping his walkie-talkie in his pocket.

"Excuse me," Ed said, running into the bathroom.

"Since when did Ed get a cell phone?" Kiyomaro wondered.

"A what?" Gash asked.

"Never mind."

"So, you said they're at the beach?" Ed said, putting the lid on the toilet seat down and sitting on it.

"Yup." Al watched the girls run out of the beach house in their swimsuits. Megumi's sunglasses were off, and she and Winry each carried a surfboard.

"What are they doing?"

"It looks like they're going surfing."

"Alright, then. Report back if they're doing anything…girly."

"Girly…? I'll try." Al turned off the walkie-talkie.

Ed went back into Kiyomaro's room. "Sorry about that. Now, where were we in our adventure, Gash?"

"Who was that, Ed?" Kiyomaro interrupted.

"My friend whom you guys have never met."

"What's your friend's name?" Gash asked, suddenly interested.

"His name's Al. I'll introduce him to you guys one day."

"Okay!" Gash's face lit up again. He was eager to meet a new friend. "Come on, let's get back to playing!"

"Meru-meru-me!" Umagon merued.

"Wait one second," Kiyomaro interrupted again.

"What, Kiyomaro?" Gash was getting a little impatient.

"Ed, is your friend spying on Megumi-san?"

Gash and Umagon looked at Ed. They also wanted to know.

"Yeah," Ed began, "but you've gotta understand. I wanna know more about girls, and this is one of the few ways to do it."

"You can't find anything out this way," Kiyomaro said.

But Ed refused to believe it. "I'll definitely find something out about girls. I don't care what anyone else says. I will."

* * *

"Paddle, Tio, paddle," Megumi said. She and Tio kneeled on their surfboards. Winry had already gone out far from the beach.

"I-I can't…" Tio said, staring at the water with growing fear.

"Yes you can. Now, come on, paddle!" Megumi started paddling with her hands.

"W-What if there's…a squid…or…a jellyfish...or...a shark?" Tio got more and more scared as they went out farther into the ocean.

"Don't worry so much, Tio. Have fun."

Tio dipped her hands in the water, but immediately took them back out. "M…Megumi…"

"You're afraid of drowning again, aren't you?"

Tio said nothing, but Megumi was right. Even though she was in a safer situation with Megumi around, she was still afraid of the surfboard tipping over and falling into the ocean.

"Tio, if you don't want to surf, we could just go back to the beach."

Tio slowly put her hands in the water. She waited a minute to get used to the warmness of the water, then began paddling.

"Good!" Megumi praised.

Waves bobbed the surfboard up and down. As each wave came and went, Tio became more comfortable. She was okay until she saw a wave that towered above her. She looked behind her. The beach was no longer visible.

"Okay, Tio!" Megumi said, standing up and spreading her arms apart to balance herself. "Here comes the first big wave! Stand up!"

Tio was a little reluctant to, as she was thinking that would make her more likely to fall off, but she trusted Megumi. She stood up.

The wave seemed to get bigger as they came closer to it. The surfboard was tilted upward; they were now on the demonic wave.

Tio was shaking. Megumi must've sensed her fear, because she turned around and smiled, saying, "You're not going to fall, Tio. I promise."

Her assurance made Tio feel a little bit better. But Tio's small bit of relief quickly turned to fear when she looked down, realizing that they were at the top of the wave. She thought they were going to fall when Megumi made the surfboard swerve. Tio grinned, amazed, as Megumi maneuvered it up and down the wave, the wave getting smaller each time. Then, the wave crashed down on them. Tio closed her eyes as water flooded both her and Megumi. She thought they were drowning, but the water suddenly stopped pounding them. She opened her eyes. She and Megumi were still standing on top of the surfboard.

"Are you okay, Tio?" Megumi asked.

"Yeah," Tio replied.

"It wasn't as bad as you thought it was, right?"

"Actually…" Tio smiled. "…it was…fun! I enjoyed that!" Tio realized that she wanted to feel the adrenaline rush and excitement of surfing again. "When are we gonna do it again, Megumi?!"

"Right now." Megumi was staring at another wave, this one bigger than the last.

* * *

"Ed…" Al spoke into the walkie-talkie. Darkness surrounded him, and he could barely keep himself awake. "They went out into the ocean and haven't returned for hours… I can't see them at all… Can I come back…?"

The worry of not finding anything out was slowly becoming an actuality, but Ed was still determined to find at least one thing out about girls. He could take that one piece of information and squeeze more out of it. "No, stay there until they come back."

"Hey, Ed," Kiyomaro chimed in, throwing a blanket over Gash and Umagon, who were both sleeping on his bed, "don't you think that it's a little…odd that they've been gone this long? Do you think…?"

Ed eyes grew wide; he had already figured it out. He practically screamed into the walkie-talkie, "Al, go into the ocean and look for them! Don't worry about changing into a bathing suit! Just go!"

"Got it!" Al jammed his walkie-talkie into his pocket and ran towards the ocean.

* * *

Tio looked all around her. Nothing but water. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't swim. She was helpless. She had gotten separated from Megumi getting thrown off the surfboard. It seemed that all hope was lost.

She looked up for any sign of something that could save her. She saw the body of someone swimming with all their clothes on, their head poked into the water. Tio's vision had faded without her realizing it and she couldn't make out who it was, but she could see that it was a boy. The person dove into the water. He gently took her and carried her up to the surface. As soon as she reached fresh air, Tio coughed.

"Are you okay, Tio?" the boy asked.

Tio couldn't ask him how he knew her name because of her bad cough. Even though she was out of the water, the effects were still getting to her.

"It...Al..." the boy said. It was becoming more difficult to make his face out and hearing. "I...explain how I found you... Right now...need to...you to shore...Megumi-san…"

Tio couldn't fight the urge to sleep anymore, even though she wanted to help save Megumi. Everything went black.

* * *

It was dark. Megumi could only hear the water around her. She didn't have the strength to swim to the surface. That last wave had sucked all of the energy out of her. She let herself sink.

She stopped sinking and was pushed up. Megumi wondered if she was swimming without realizing it. She felt bursts of air slap her face. She could breathe again. She opened her eyes and saw her savior.

"Win...ry…?" she made out. "Is that you?"

"Yeah," Winry said. She hung Megumi over her surfboard. "You were drowning."

Megumi opened her mouth to explain, but Winry cupped her hand over it.

"Don't talk, that'll make you more tired." _I have to try and find my way to the shore… _she thought. _I hope I can…_

She began swimming, Megumi unconsciously hanging over the surfboard, but something pulled her down. She tried to stay above the water, but the creature was too strong. She and Megumi were enveloped in water.

Winry looked down and saw a giant squid with one of its giant tentacles wrapped around her legs. She pushed Megumi and the surfboard back up to the surface right before the squid wrapped another one of its tentacles around her arms.

The squid continued dragging Winry down. It became harder and harder to struggle against the squid; she could hardly breathe and see. It was like the strength was being sucked out of her. She had to think fast.

Then, she came up with the perfect plan. She bit the squid's tentacles as hard as she could. The squid unwrapped its tentacles from around Winry's legs and arms, the water becoming polluted with its blood. Winry grabbed one of the squid's tentacles and used all of her remaining strength to try and pull it up to the surface, but it was too heavy. She tried harder, and the squid started getting pulled upwards. She and the squid reached the surface. Winry took in a big breath of air while the squid started to die.

Winry looked at the squid, and saw Al floating next to it.

"Al…" she said. "You…"

"I followed you and helped you with the squid. I'll explain everything onshore. Tio's waiting there, and she's still unconscious."

Back onshore, Al pushed the water out of Tio. He watched it spray out of her mouth.

"You were…following us…" Winry couldn't get over that. It was strange that Al had followed them instead of Ed. Then, the reason why came to her.

"Please don't get angry," Al said. "At least not until Tio and Megumi-san are awake."

Tio coughed and opened her eyes. Her eyes adjusted to the light.

"Megumi…" she said. "Where's Megumi? We were drowning, and—"

Megumi stirred and opened her eyes. She sat up and looked around, dazed.

"Megumi!" Tio leaped into her. Megumi, unprepared for Tio's hug, was pushed down onto the ground.

"Tio…" Megumi was still flustered. "What happened…?" She looked around again, her eyes more adjusted, and recognized Al and Winry. "Al-kun…what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with-?" She stopped talking, realizing what had happened.

Tio got off Megumi, getting angrier with the passing seconds. She had figured out what had happened, too. "You…followed us…" she growled. "All that time…" She turned around. Al and Winry gasped at her devilish appearance. "Strangle… No, _kill…_ I'll _kill _you…" She wrenched her hands. Al squeaked.

"Tio!"

Tio stopped herself and looked at Megumi, now sitting back up.

"Is that any way to repay someone who just saved your life?"

Tio looked at the ground, thinking about it.

"I would usually be kinda angry about this," Winry said, "but if you didn't follow us, Tio, Megumi-san and I would be dead right now."

"Yep!" Tio said, not angry anymore. "Thanks, Al!"

"And thank you, Winry, Al-kun," Megumi said. "So much water flooded me at once…I couldn't save Tio. See, we drowned while we were surfing a giant wave. You can pretty much go from there."

"Where were you the whole time, Winry?" Tio asked.

"I got lost," Winry replied. "I went too far out…and while I was finding my way back, I ran into Megumi-san, who was drowning."

"Hey, Al-kun…" Megumi said. "Did Ed-kun ask you to do this?"

"Y-Yes…" Al said. "It's because…"

Al explained why on their way back. They were all standing outside Kiyomaro's house when he finished. Tio was trembling with anger.

"So that's what happened," Megumi said, knocking on the door. "You guys just had to ask us."

"Like I said before, I told Ed to do that," Al said, "but he said you guys would just tease him about it."

"Actually, I would've played with him a little bit, and I'm sure Tio and Winry would've, too. But you and Ed-kun went to such lengths to find out… The least we could do is explain everything." She looked at Tio and Winry. "Right, girls?"

Tio crossed her arms, and Winry rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I'll explain."

Hana opened the door.

"Hello," she said. She looked at Al and Winry. "Friends of yours?"

Al and Winry introduced themselves. After they finished, Hana let all of them in, and they went into Kiyomaro's room. Gash and Umagon were sprawled out on Kiyomaro's bed, asleep, Ed sat against the wall beside the bed, looking down, and Kiyomaro was sitting at his desk, studying a huge book.

"Kiyomaro-kun, Ed-kun," Megumi said.

Kiyomaro and Ed looked at them at the same time.

"Megumi-san, Tio, you're okay!" Kiyomaro exclaimed. Then, he studied Al and Winry. After he finished examining them, he looked at Ed. "These are the friends you were talking about, Ed?"

"Yeah," Ed said, "Al and Winry. Anyways, I'm glad you guys are alright. I thought you would've drowned."

"Al explained everything," Tio said, stepping towards Ed, her arms in strangling position. "And…I'll strangle the dev—"

"Tio, what did I say earlier?" Megumi said.

Tio stopped and put her arms down.

"Anyway, Ed-kun, Al-kun, I have something to tell you."

Al looked at Megumi, but Ed looked out the window.

"…About girls."

Ed looked at Megumi with sudden interest. Even Kiyomaro stopped what he was doing and listened intently.

"There really isn't anything called girl instinct. I just made that up to tease you, and I didn't mean for you to take it so seriously."

"But…Kiyomaro's mother said…" Ed said.

"Oh, I'm sure she was just teasing you, too."

"Then…how do girls _and _women know everything?"

"We put little clues together, like detectives."

"Clues?"

"Yes. How we do it… That's a secret that boys aren't supposed to know about." Megumi winked, and Ed looked down, blushing.

"Are you two satisfied now?" Winry said.

"Yep, I'm good," Ed said, looking up, his blush gone.

"Yes," Al said, even though he hadn't really been curious in the first place.

"Al-kun, did you follow us because Ed-kun told you to?" Megumi asked.

"_Asked _him to, Megumi," Ed said. "He agreed to, he didn't have to do it."

"It's true, Megumi-san," Al said. "I volunteered."

"Erm…can we go home now?" Tio said, a little jumpy. "I have to…you know…"

Megumi nodded, giving her keys, and Tio ran downstairs out the door.

"Man, that Tio…" Megumi said. "I understand she had to go, but she still could've waited."

"She could've just…" Ed caught himself in the middle, figuring it out. "Oh, I get it. Never mind."

"We'd better be going as well," Megumi said, turning. "Bye, Kiyomaro-kun."

Everyone said their goodbyes, and Megumi, Al, Winry, and Ed left.

Ed was surprised Megumi hadn't gotten angry for sending Al to spy on them. He now pondered what made Megumi angry. That's what he was going to find out next.


	11. The Quarrel of Cooking

**A/N: I have to explain some Japanese dishes before you get into the chapter.**

**Oyakodon: A rice bowl dish. Chicken, egg, green onion, and other ingredients are simmered together with a varying sauce and then served on top of a large bowl of rice.**

**Chikara udon: Translates into "power udon". A noodle soup in a mildly flavored broth. Topped with mochi rice cakes.**

**Okonomiyaki: Consists of a pan-fried batter cake and various ingredients.**

**Source: Wikipedia. If you want to know more about these dishes, I suggest you go there. I was just trying to give you a visual of them.**

**Okay, on to the chapter...**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: The Quarrel of Cooking**

Megumi walked home after a short day of work. It had been several days since Ed had spied on her, Tio, and Winry, and, since then, she had been keeping a close watch on him to make sure he wasn't plotting anything or following her again. Every time she went out, she checked the inside of her bag. She stayed aware of her surroundings and checked her room often to see if anything was missing. She also searched Ed's room constantly to see if anything of hers was there.

"She can't cook!"

Megumi turned around. Until that moment, she was unaware that Ed, Al, and Winry were walking in the same direction she was. Ed walked backwards with his hands behind his head, facing Al and Winry, who were walking alongside each other. They were so far back that they weren't noticing her. But Megumi could hear Ed; he was talking loudly. She turned back around and listened closely.

"She _sucks_ at it!"

There was a pause. Megumi assumed that that was Al or Winry talking.

"That was a hoax, Al. She bought that cake from the bakery. She has a lot of money."

Megumi briefly thought that Ed was talking about her. She refused to believe it because, despite everything he had done to her, Ed respected her very much and wouldn't insult her like that. She knew it.

"I bet Megumi microwaves food for dinner 'cause she burns everything she tries to cook."

Megumi was a little angry at Ed's accusations about her cooking, but she kept listening to see if he was kidding.

"Yeah, she can't 'cause she's an idol and can't find time to learn how. So she hires people to do it for her. Like I said before, she's an idol and has a lot of money, and can buy her way to everything."

Megumi was hurt and a bit mad, especially since Ed brought her life as an idol into this. She didn't care if he was kidding or not; that was insulting. She walked towards the trio. As she walked, she saw Al and Winry staring at Ed, showing no emotion. She stopped a fair distance behind them. Al and Winry looked up at her. They stopped, both their eyes getting huge, and gawked. Al took a step back. Ed stopped walking.

"She's behind me, isn't she?" Ed said.

Al and Winry nodded slowly. Ed turned around and looked at her. He didn't show any regret or fear.

"Ed-kun…you…you…" Megumi stammered. "What you said…about my cooking…"

"Yeah, I don't think you can."

Megumi noticed Ed's prompting. "If you think that I can't cook...you..." Megumi smiled competitively. "Why don't we have a little competition? Whoever's the better cook wins. It'll be next Friday. No martial arts lesson this week."

"Fine by me."

"I hope you learn how to cook, Ed-kun!" Megumi walked away, leaving Ed, Al, and Winry staring at her.

* * *

"You've dug yourself deep this time, Ed," Winry said after Megumi was gone. "Now you have to learn how to cook in a week."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Ed said. "Hey, do you guys know how to cook?"

Al and Winry shook their heads.

"Since both of us don't know how," Al said, "what're you gonna do?"

"He should give up," Winry said. "There's no way he can win against Megumi. She's way too talented."

"No, I won't give up," Ed said. "If I do that, then I have to do something embarrassing in front of everybody. I've seen it happen on T.V."

"You can't win," Winry said.

"I'll win. Al thinks so. Right, Al?"

Al pretended to be engaged in an ant carrying a crumb on the ground.

"You can't win," Winry repeated. "Even Al doesn't think you can win."

"It doesn't matter what other people think," Ed said. "I'll win for sure."

* * *

Ed lay on his bed, staring outside the window at the moon. He couldn't go to sleep. He was thinking about how he would learn how to cook in such a short amount of time. Even though he had this to worry about, he was satisfed. He had made Megumi angry.

Then, he knew: Hana.

* * *

The next morning, Ed went straight to Kiyomaro's house. He looked at Umagon lying on his back sleeping in his doghouse for a moment and then knocked on the door. A second later, Hana opened it.

"Hello, Ed-kun," she greeted him.

"Hi, Hana-san," Ed said. He was nervous. "Uh…I got myself in a bit of a mess, and…I need to learn how to cook..."

"That's no problem, Ed-kun."

"…in a week."

"That still isn't a problem. Come in."

Ed followed Hana into the kitchen, still nervous. He looked around. Gash and Kiyomaro were nowhere to be found.

"Where are Gash and Kiyomaro?"

"They went to the park, and Umagon-chan's still asleep, so there won't be any interruptions."

That made Ed even more nervous. If they were watching him, he would feel a little better.

Hana opened a nearby drawer and took out a knife. "Now, let's begin…"

* * *

By the end of the day, Hana had taught Ed how to cut with a knife, some basic recipes, how to work an oven, and showed him ingredients and materials. Ed was having trouble catching on to this, however. He kept getting ingredients mixed up, had a hard time telling the difference between a teaspoon and tablespoon, and kept holding the knife incorrectly, almost cutting himself a couple of times. The only thing he understood was how to work the oven. He promised himself that he would do better tomorrow.

Ed arrived on the doorstep of Megumi's house. He put his hand on the doorknob and opened it without thinking. The first thing he noticed was the smell: it was a mixture of noodles and vegetables, and it smelled good. He heard Megumi's voice from the kitchen.

"Tio, I need _more _good recipes!" she was saying. "Give me the best recipes that are in there!"

While she said this, Ed walked towards the kitchen and stood a little outside of it, staring at them. Megumi had her hair in a ponytail and had an apron on. She was chopping radishes at a blinding speed. Tio looked similar to Megumi and was frantically flipping the pages of a cookbook. A cake was baking in the oven.

"I'm looking, I'm looking!" Tio said. A few seconds later, she said, "I can't find anything. What're you gonna cook?" Apparently, she had been told about the contest.

"I'll just cook a combo of-" She looked at Ed from the corner of her eye. "Oh, Ed-kun." She stopped chopping a radish, put down her knife, and turned around. "We were just training for the contest."

"You're gonna get beat bad," Tio had stopped looking through the cookbook and was looking at Ed now. "Megumi's real good at cooking."

"I hope you're practicing too, Ed-kun. After what you said…I definitely won't lose." Megumi paused. "By the way, you'll need to memorize the recipes."

"Why?" Ed asked.

"It'll help you in the long run. Trust me."

"You're not trying to make this easy, are you?"

"Who said it was gonna be easy?" Tio said.

Tio did have a point. Ed turned around and walked towards the stairs. "Whatever. I'm going to bed."

"You're not going to train, Ed-kun?" Megumi said.

"I don't have any place to train by myself this late, and I'm…" Ed stopped. He was too embarrassed to tell them that he was struggling quite a bit with cooking and needed someone to help him. "…sleepy. Yeah, I'm sleepy. Good night." Ed started climbing the stairs.

As he climbed, he heard Megumi say, "Sleepy, huh...?"

He also heard Tio say, "Wow, he's going to lose."

* * *

Ed was cutting carrots in the kitchen at Kiyomaro's house. Gash and Hana surrounded him, watching.

"You're doing well, Ed-kun," Hana said.

"But I still need to do better, right?" Ed said, not taking his eyes off the carrots.

"You'll do well, Ed!" Gash said enthusiastically. He, Kiyomaro, Umagon, and Hana had all been told about the contest that day. Gash and Kiyomaro were going to be two of the five judges in the competition.

"Kiyomaro-kun, Gash-kun, Tio, Sunbeam-san, and Folgore-san have all agreed to judge the dishes we make," Megumi had told a sleepy Ed that morning. "Al-kun, Winry, Kanchome, and Umagon are going to watch. You know, to make sure we don't cheat. I asked all of them on my way to work yesterday."

"How were all of them able to come?" Ed asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Oh, they find their free time…"

Ed was snapped back to reality by a sudden pain through his thumb on his right hand. He looked at it. He was bleeding heavily. He dropped the knife and backed up, holding his thumb in horror and screaming. He had sliced himself with the knife.

"Ed-kun!" Hana said, running over to him. She bent down and looked at Ed's thumb. Gash ran over and looked at it as well.

Kiyomaro ran down the stairs. "Everything all right?" he said, looking at them a distance away. "I heard a scream."

"Ed…" Gash was horrified. He didn't take his eyes off the bleeding thumb. "Ed…"

"Ed-kun sliced himself with the knife while cutting vegetables," Hana said. "Kiyomaro, can you get some bandages and alcohol, please?"

"We don't need to take him to a hospital?" Kiyomaro asked.

"No, he should be fine with just bandages and some alcohol."

Kiyomaro ran back upstairs.

"Ed-kun, you have to pay attention when you're doing something like this."

"Yeah, I know…" Ed said. "I zoned out for a sec, and the next thing I knew, my thumb was gushing."

Kiyomaro came back down with loose bandages, a bottle of alcohol, and cotton balls in his hands. He ran over to them, Gash moving aside. Kiyomaro poured the alcohol on a cotton ball and then dapped the cotton ball on the cut.

"Augh." Ed flinched. "It burns."

Once he had gotten a good amount of alcohol on Ed's thumb, Kiyomaro took the bandages and wrapped them tightly around the thumb, securing it with a knot.

"There," Kiyomaro said, "that should do it."

"Ed-kun, you should stop cooking for a while," Hana said. "Let your thumb heal for a couple days."

"But if I do that," Ed said, "I won't be able to beat Megumi…"

"Even after you've sliced your thumb," Kiyomaro said, "you're _still _worried about that contest?"

"Once Megumi-chan sees that…" Hana said.

_I won't let her see it, _Ed thought.

* * *

Megumi collapsed on the couch. She was tired; she had had a long day of work. She knew what she was going to cook for the contest: an oyakodon and chikara udon combination. She had to practice as much as possible and make it the best, but she needed to lay down for a while first.

"Hey, Megumi." Tio came in the room. She stopped next to Megumi, looking at her.

"Oh, Tio…" Megumi said drowsily. "You're still awake?"

"Yeah, I'm not sleepy. Ed's asleep, though. He came in and went straight to bed. I didn't even see him."

"Hmm…that's strange…"

"Yeah, I guess. Anyways, why are you on the couch and not in bed?"

"Well, I was planning on practicing my combo a little…"

Tio gave Megumi a look. Megumi knew what that look meant.

"…but, I'll just go to bed. Good night, Tio." She forced herself off the couch and went upstairs in her room, closing the door.

_Is Megumi gonna be able to win? _Tio thought.

* * *

Hana opened the door. "Ed-kun? You're not here to learn more, are you?"

"That's exactly why I'm here," Ed said. "The contest's only five days away, and I still have a lot to learn."

"I told you that you should wait until that wound's healed completely. Didn't you tell Megumi-chan about the cut?"

"No. This cut's nothing."

"Well, since you look like you won't take 'no' for an answer, I guess it'll be okay. Come in." She led him into the kitchen. "Now, what I'll show you today is…"

* * *

"Hey, Megumi, are you all right?" Tio said, looking at Megumi worryingly. "You don't look too good."

"Yes…" Megumi replied weakly, chopping green onions as fast as she could, which wasn't as fast as usual.

"You look beat. Are you sure you don't need to take a break? You've been going at it for hours."

"No, I'm…" Megumi lowered her head. "…fine…" Her head hit the table, knife still in hand.

"Megumi!" Tio ran over to Megumi with a chair dragging behind her, stood on the chair, and gently tapped Megumi's cheek repeatedly.

Megumi stirred and slowly lifted her head, opening her eyes. "What happened…?"

"You have to go to bed, Megumi. Get more sleep." Tio hopped off the chair, kicking it aside, and pushed Megumi towards the stairs.

"No, I have to train... Tio, let me…"

"You fainted, Megumi, and you've could've cut yourself or something. You need sleep."

"Ed-kun's trying his hardest."

Tio stopped pushing Megumi.

"If he's doing his best, then I should, too. After all, I'm sure he's just as tired as I am."

"But he doesn't have to work 'til late like you!"

"He's learning how to cook elsewhere, and he's probably stressing himself out with it as much, or more, as I am with work. I mean, he has to learn in such little time…"

"There's no way he can be stressing himself out with it as much as you do with work. It's just not possible. He hasn't been cooking for long, so he'll lose. Stop worrying yourself and go to bed." Tio started pushing Megumi again.

"No, Tio… I have to…" Megumi's head began to droop. "I have…to…" She fell asleep.

Tio took Megumi by the hands and dragged her upstairs with some difficulty. She pushed Megumi on the bed.

_Hmm… Now what do I do? _Tio thought. _Should I stay with Megumi, or…? Eh, she'll be okay. _Tio left Megumi laying on the bed.

* * *

Ed was working hard. It was tough, with his thumb impaired, but he was catching on more and doing better. He was beginning to memorize some recipes and was handling knives better. He also knew how to use a stove.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Gash volunteered. He ran over to the front door and opened it. "Hi, Tio!"

"Hey, Gash!" she greeted him. She sniffed. "What's cooking?"

"Ed is."

Tio stared at Gash. After a minute, she figured it out. "Oh, you thought I said _who's _cooking. I said _what's _cooking. But anyway, is he learning how to cook from Hana-san?"

"Yes."

"I think I'll take a little peek…" Tio pushed Gash aside and ran into the kitchen. She saw Ed pouring noodles into a bowl, his back to her. Hana and Kiyomaro were on both sides of him, watching.

"You're only gonna cook ramen?" Tio teased.

Ed jumped. He, Hana, and Kiyomaro turned around at the same time.

"T-Tio…!" Ed hid his right hand behind his back. "No! Get her out! She's not allowed to see what I'm cooking!"

"I'm sure it won't do much harm, Ed-kun," Hana said.

"Yeah, Ed," Gash said, walking in. "She wanted to know, so I let her in."

"Gash!" Ed yelled.

"What?"

"Gash, you weren't supposed to let her in," Kiyomaro explained. "Since she's most likely helping Megumi-san, she can't find out what Ed's cooking. Same with Ed."

"Oh…sorry…"

"Don't feel bad about it," Ed said. "It's not a big deal. She can't piece together what I'm _really _gonna cook…I hope…"

"Why don't you two go to the park with Umagon?" Kiyomaro suggested.

"But…Naomi-chan…" Gash started trembling.

"I walked through there today on my way here," Ed lied, "and I didn't see her."

"Alright!" Gash was happy again. "Come on, Tio!" He took Tio's wrist and dragged her out the door. Tio gave no resistance.

Ed was afraid that Tio would tell Megumi what he was cooking, and he prayed that Tio hadn't seen his injured thumb. He had to cook something else to be safe. But what?

* * *

As the days passed, Ed got better at cooking. He knew what he was going to cook, and his sliced thumb was healing fast. He had incredibly managed to keep his it a secret all six days since he had cut it, something he was surprised about. He had finally figured out the difference between a teaspoon and tablespoon, memorized most of the recipes in the cookbook, and could cook them all without a problem.

Megumi, on the other hand, was having a hard time training. Since she was staying up late most nights, she hardly had time to practice. And, when she did have time, she was practically falling asleep, and most of her dishes didn't come out as planned. Tio was getting more worried about this everyday, as the contest was approaching fast, and Megumi didn't look like she was going to be able to win. Tio decided to give her as much rest as possible so she would perform her best the day of the contest. When Tio told Ed to leave Megumi alone, he said he would cooperate; he wanted the best performance out of Megumi as well so his win wouldn't be a fluke.

The day of the contest finally arrived. Just as Megumi had said, Al, Winry, Umagon, Kanchome, Sunbeam, Folgore, Gash, Kiyomaro, and even Hana came to watch, some to judge. Ed and Megumi were cooking at different times, not to reveal their dishes to anyone until both of them had finished. They were to wait someplace where they couldn't look inside the kitchen to prevent cheating. Megumi went first, Al and Winry following her to watch.

Ed had taken off the bandages around his injured thumb before he came. There was only a red cut there, something no one could notice unless they were up close.

He had relaxed the night before so he wouldn't be nervous and mess up his dish. He waited patiently between Kanchome and Umagon for Megumi to get finished.

"Is there going to be yellowtail in any of these dishes?" Gash asked eagerly. He had come prepared: he had chopsticks in hand and had a white cloth tied around his neck, working as a bib.

"We'll see," Kiyomaro said.

If Ed had put yellowtail in his dish, he would get Gash's vote for sure. But it was too late to change, and he didn't know what yellowtail went with. He hoped that Megumi hadn't put yellowtail in hers.

Meanwhile, Megumi was cooking her best, Al and Winry watching a safe distance away. She had gotten as much rest as possible yesterday and was refreshed. Her oyakodon and chikara udon combination was coming out perfectly. She was confident that she would win.

Megumi finished. She came out of the kitchen with her food in a lunchbox. She placed it on the table where the judges were sitting. Gash was drooling a little, Tio's eyes were glowing, and Kiyomaro, Sunbeam, and Folgore were staring at it, grinning.

Ed got up and went into the kitchen, Kanchome and Umagon behind him. The ingredients were all laid out for him. All he had to do was cook his okonomiyaki. He started cutting the cabbage leaves.

While Ed cooked, Megumi sat on the stairs. Al and Winry were socializing with everyone. She wondered what he was, no, what he _could _cook at his level. Before she knew it, Ed came out, Kanchome and Umagon by his side, carrying his dish. He put it on the judges' table next to Megumi's. The judges' faces weren't as enthusiastic as before, as they thought Ed's dish wouldn't be as good as Megumi's, due to lack of experience.

The judging began. Gash sunk when he saw that the dishes didn't have any yellowtail in it, but they still looked tasty. Kiyomaro tasted both dishes first.

"Hmm…" Kiyomaro thought for a moment. "They're both delicious, but I'll have to go with Megumi-san's."

Ed showed no emotion. He didn't want to somehow sway the votes; people would probably think he was planning something to win.

Next was Gash. Immediately after he had taken a bite of each, he said, "Um…Megumi-dono."

_Did he think? _Ed thought.

"Well, Ed-kun," Megumi said, giving Ed a little nudge and winking, "only one more vote for me, and I win."

Ed stepped away, blushing.

Then, it was Tio's turn. She took a long time to decide. Finally, she said, "Ed."

Everyone was surprised. It was ironic in every way.

_Did she do that out of pity for me, _Ed thought, _or to stir things up?_

Tio passed the two lunchboxes to Folgore. It didn't take him too long to decide. "Wow… I didn't expect him to do such a good job… The skill's almost even… Ed. I vote for Ed. Good job, boy!"

"Thanks…" Ed said. _It's a tie, and there's only one more person voting…_ _What a cliché… But, at least now I know that Tio wasn't voting for me out of pity…I think... Or maybe…Folgore-san was doing it out of pity _and _to stir things up…like Tio… This could go…_

"Ed-kun."

"Huh?" Ed said, looking at Megumi, agitated at being jerked out of his thoughts.

"Did you hear what happened?"

"No, what happened?"

"Erm…" Kiyomaro scratched his head. "Megumi-san won, Ed."

Ed wasn't surprised. "Well, congrats, Megumi."

"Thanks, Ed-kun." Megumi said, smiling. "You did a good job, too."

Ed went over to Hana. "Thanks for teaching me."

"You're welcome, Ed-kun." Hana smiled.

"Is there a prize?" Tio asked.

"No, no prize," Megumi said.

"No one gets _anything_?" Kanchome said. "Not even candy?"

"No," Ed said bluntly.

"If there's no prize, what's the point of the contest?"

"You don't know the whole story."

As Ed said this, Megumi went over to the judges' table and took a bite of Ed's dish. "Ed-kun… This is delicious, Ed-kun!"

Ed beamed, knowing that Megumi would never lie to him.

* * *

As Ed, Megumi, and Tio walked home, Ed thought about what could've happened.

_If I had made a more complex dish, _he thought, _I, most likely, would've won. I would just have needed to season it well. Megumi did all that, and that's why she won. It also depends on everyone's tastes. If I had put yellowtail in my dish, Gash would've voted for me without thinking, like he did with Megumi's dish. If Megumi had put something that Sunbeam had liked in hers, Sunbeam would've voted for her. And if..._

_"_What're you thinking about, Ed-kun?" Megumi interrupted Ed's thoughts.

"Thinking about what?" Ed said, a little shaken. "Oh, yeah... I was thinking... I was thinking about... Um... Uh..."

"He was thinking about the contest," Tio said. "Y'know, how bad he got beaten."

"N-No...! Not about that! I was just...thinking..."

"About how you could've done better?" Megumi guessed.

"Uh...yeah... Yeah, let's just go with that."

Tio and Megumi exchanged looks.

* * *

It was nighttime. Ed lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He didn't care that Megumi had won. All that mattered to him was learning how to cook. His new skill would be useful in the future.

There was knocking on the door.

"Ed-kun." It was Megumi. "Can I come in?"

"Sure." Ed sat up.

Megumi opened the door and walked in. She was in her pajamas. "I really think you did a good job today. I mean, to be able to learn in such little time…it's amazing, it really is. And, to make it even more amazing…you're really good at it!"

"But I'm not as good as you, so I still need to get better, right?"

"If you feel that way, then I'll teach you more."

"That's cool and all, but you're already teaching me martial arts. How will you…?"

"Don't worry, I'll find time. I can teach you both at the same time."

"W-Wow… Thanks, Megumi…"

"You're welcome, Ed-kun. By the way…why did you say all those things about my cooking? Were you just trying to make me mad?"

Megumi was dead-on. Ed had done it on purpose.

"Yeah," Ed said. "You never get angry about anything… You're always happy, Megumi, even though you do have a stressful life."

"I am? Hm. I never noticed."

_How could she not notice? _"But, if you knew that I was doing it intentionally, how come you didn't stay calm?"

"I didn't know you did it purposely until the contest was over. I was so flustered about what you said and frustrated about work that I couldn't manage my thoughts, so I couldn't figure it out with the obvious clues."

"Frustrated…?" Ed felt guilty. "Sorry about making your already stressful life even more stressful, Megumi…"

"Don't worry about it, Ed-kun. With everything that's happened with this demon battle and all, that was nothing."

"Demon battle…?" Ed's face became blank. "What demon battle?"

Megumi was about to explain it when Ed suddenly remembered.

"Oh, yeah. What were you saying?"

"Actually, I was just about to go to bed." She turned. "Good night, Ed-kun."

"Wait, one more thing, then you can go to bed, promise."

Megumi looked back.

"Why did Tio vote for me?"

"I asked her the same exact question, and she said that she thought that you did a great job on your dish. The look on her face...she meant it."

"R-Really? Wow... She wasn't kidding... Okay, you can go to bed now. 'Night, Megumi."

"Good night." Megumi winked, and then left.

Ed slid down in bed, blushing. Another thing to add to the neverending list of things Megumi had done for Ed: teaching him how to cook better even though she had ten thousand other things to do. He still had to figure out a way to repay her. He wondered if there was anything he could do that was equivalent to the amount of things she had done for him. He decided to worry about it tomorrow, and fell asleep.


	12. The Quarrel of Money Making

**Chapter Twelve: The Quarrel of Money-Making**

Ed decided to take Megumi to New York in the United States in return for everything she had done for him. Tio would go, too, not only so Ed wouldn't be alone and nervous with Megumi, but also in case a demon appeared. He had checked out a book from the library that showed basic English phrases so they could get around. He also went to Al's house and looked up how much it would cost using the internet, which was about 590,000 yen. Ed still needed a way to make all that money, but he would get it done. He would do anything to return Megumi for all the situations she had saved him from.

It was past noon, and Ed had just gotten back from learning more about martial arts and cooking from Megumi. He had gotten the knack of some new martial arts moves and recipes. However, he still needed to work on them since Megumi said there were still a couple flaws in them.

He, Al, and Winry now sat in Megumi's basement, talking about what they were going to do when they grew up.

"I'm going to go off and learn more about alchemy," Ed said. "I know there are others besides me and Al that do it. And there have to be fewer restrictions than the alchemy book. I want to know what else I can combine. And…I just want to explore."

"I looked a couple things up on alchemy on the internet," Al said. "There's something called the Philosopher's Stone—something that you can use to alchemize anything you want. There's no such thing as 'equivalent trade' as the alchemy book puts it. I'll go with you, Ed, just because I wanna know if this Philosopher's Stone really can do this."

"That could come in handy one day." Ed turned to Winry. "What're you gonna do, Winry?"

"Automail," Winry said. "I saw it on T.V. You build and replace things with it, and it looks really fun. I can make a profit out of it here, but I need to learn how to use it, first."

"Not a stripper?" Ed immediately cupped his hands over his mouth. He didn't mean to say it. Al scooted away a few feet.

"A…A…" Winry turned red with anger.

"L-Look Winry," Ed began his apology, "I'm really sorry. I-It… It…" His voice trailed off as he examined Winry carefully. Her clothes were suddenly gone, and Ed blushed. "Your body is nice…"

Winry turned even redder.

"Uh-oh… Winry, I didn't… I…I was saying that it slipped out, and I…erm...yeah."

Ed and Al waited for a reaction. Winry stared at Ed and then did something unexpected.

"I'm telling," she said, the red on her face lightening to bright pink.

"Telling?" Ed said. "Who?"

Winry started running upstairs. "Megumi-san."

Al squeaked.

"M-Megumi?!" Ed's voice cracked as he said this. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean it, I swear!"

"Megumi-san!" Winry yelled, running out the basement door.

Ed turned to Al. "What are you waiting for?! I'm sure you don't want to get caught in the middle!"

Al stared at Ed for a moment and then ran upstairs, Ed close behind him. Ed stopped in front of the basement door and watched Al run.

"Stop right there!"

Al came to an abrupt stop and looked at Megumi standing with her hands on her hips at the top of the stairs. Winry stood beside her.

"Winry told me that Ed-kun said that she should be a…stripper when she got older and that she had a nice body. Is this true, Al-kun?"

Al stared at her. Tio came out of her bedroom, went in the kitchen, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

"Where's Ed-kun?"

Al glanced at Ed. Ed did nothing.

"Oh, that's where he is, huh…?" Megumi began walking down the stairs. Winry followed her.

Ed was frozen; he couldn't move. Megumi and Winry stopped in front of him.

Megumi crossed her arms. "Ed-kun..."

"It slipped out, really!" Ed said desperately, moving slowly around the two girls.

Ed could tell by the look on Megumi's face that he was still in serious trouble. He backed up even more while thinking of a way to get out of it.

"What're you gonna do, Megumi-san?" Winry asked.

"I'm thinking…" Megumi replied.

"Have you seen Tio's snake?" Ed said.

Everyone except Ed looked at Tio.

"Snake?" Megumi said. "What snake?"

"I don't have a snake," Tio said.

They all heard a door slam. They looked towards it. Ed was gone.

"That was clever…" Winry said.

Tio saw Al trembling out of the corner of her eye.

"Al's not in trouble, is he, Megumi?" Tio said to make him feel better.

Megumi giggled. "No, not at all. As far as I know, he didn't do anything, right, Winry?"

"Yup," Winry said.

Despite this, Al still shook.

_He's thinking about what'll happen to Ed, _Tio thought.

"Well, we'd better go after Ed-kun," Megumi said, walking towards the door. "I have a pretty good idea of where he's going…"

* * *

Ed ran as fast as he could to Gash's house. On his way there, he glimpsed a young man walking in his yard with large shears in his hand.

"Run, Forrest, run!" the man yelled.

Ed ignored him.

He finally arrived at Gash's house. Not looking at Umagon's doghouse, he slid onto the porch and knocked on the door.

"Meru?" Umagon merued, wanting to know what was wrong.

"I'll explain later, Umagon," Ed said. "Just…come in, and I'll explain."

"Meru..." Umagon stretched and then lazily got up. He trotted over to Ed as Hana opened the door.

"Is Kiyomaro or Gash here?" Ed asked.

"Yes, both of them are," Hana answered. "Kanchome and Folgore are here, too."

"Oh, thank God."

"What happened?"

"Nothing important…"

Hana stared at Ed for a moment and then moved aside to let Ed and Umagon in. Ed ran upstairs, Umagon running after him. Ed practically threw himself into Kiyomaro's bedroom door. The door banged on the wall. Umagon stopped at Ed's side while Kiyomaro almost fell out of his chair. Kiyomaro caught himself using his desk and pulled him and the chair back up. Gash, once again, was oblivious, staring at Ed and Umagon in the doorway, sitting on his knees on the floor, holding Vulcan. Folgore, who was backing up from the window and pointing at a CD, tripped over his feet and fell on the bed. The CD flew into the air. Kanchome remained next to Kiyomaro and screeched, both hands raised in the air. Folgore's CD landed in one of his hands.

"Ed!" Kiyomaro yelled.

"No time to get angry, Kiyomaro," Ed said. "Something happened again…"

Ed summarized what had happened at Megumi's house.

"And just what do you want us to do about it?" Kiyomaro shouted, still agitated.

"I don't know!" Ed screamed back.

"Then wha—"

The argument was interrupted by the doorbell's somewhat annoying ring. After a moment, they all heard the door open and Hana saying, "Hello, Megumi-chan."

Ed gulped.

"Hello, Hana-san," Megumi greeted Hana. "Is Ed-kun here?"

"Good luck, Ed," Kiyomaro said, pulling out a large book from the small bookcase on his desk, opening it, and studying it.

Ed sat next to Gash. Kanchome gave the CD to Folgore, who was still lying on the bed. Umagon lay down next to Ed. Almost as soon as he did so, there was knocking, and Megumi appeared in the doorway.

"Am I in big trouble?" Ed asked.

"No, not really," Megumi replied. She looked at Winry, Tio, and Al behind her. "You all can go in."

Winry, Tio, and Al went into the room.

"Hey, Kiyomaro-kun…"

Kiyomaro lifted his head from the book and looked at Megumi. "Y-Yes?"

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Uh…sure." Kiyomaro got up and left the room with Megumi. They closed the door.

"Must be real private," Ed said, putting his hands behind his head and lying down.

"Of course it is!" Folgore said, sitting up. "Whenever a woman pulls a man aside like that…it has to be private! Something…romantic!"

Kiyomaro opened the door and walked in, saying, "Girls with Megumi-san. Boys stay in here."

"Why?" Winry asked.

"We have to…talk about certain things," Kiyomaro said. "Now, you and Tio, out."

Winry and Tio left without objection. Kiyomaro closed the door behind them.

"Why can't girls be in here, Kiyomaro?" Gash asked.

"Well…" Kiyomaro sat down in his desk chair. "I'm going to talk about things girls can't know about. Things that you may not understand, Gash."

_So guys get to keep secrets, too, huh…? _Ed thought. _I thought there were only girl secrets._

"What can't I understand?" Gash said.

Kiyomaro recalled the times when he tried to explain things to Gash unsuccessfully. "A lot of things…"

"Like what?"

Kiyomaro ignored Gash's question. "I have to give you all the talk. It's something every growing boy needs to hear."

"I'll help you, Kiyomaro," Folgore said.

"…No, thanks. Anyway, the girls are getting a similar talk from Megumi-san. We're both talking about changes."

"What kind of changes?" Gash asked.

"I'm going to explain, Gash. Now, when boys go through puberty, they start to feel...sexually attracted towards girls."

"Puberty? Sexually attracted?" Gash tried to understand, but couldn't. "What's 'puberty' and 'sexually attracted?'"

"It's what Folgore feels all the time," Kanchome said. "He wants to be around women and grope their breasts, so that's what 'sexually attracted' means."

Folgore nodded while Kanchome said this. Al's eyes grew big, and Umagon shuddered. It wasn't too surprising to Ed, considering that it went hand-in-hand with Folgore's flamboyant personality.

"I still don't understand…" Gash said.

"Ed was feeling like this around Winry," Kiyomaro continued, "and felt… How did you feel, Ed?"

"While I was apologizing and looking at her," Ed explained, "I saw her nude. It was really weird."

"Every boy gets that feeling. It's awkward, but at the same time, it's normal. There's a much more scientific way for explaining this, but I'll keep it simple for now."

"This isn't simple," Gash interrupted.

"Gash, please. Now, I'm sure this feeling…the temptation can be a little overwhelming, so all you can do is use your willpower to stay in control. It can be hard, but, you know…"

"I don't know, Kiyomaro," Gash said, shaking his head. "I just don't understand!"

"It's not that important at your age, Gash." Kiyomaro was getting frustrated.

"But, Kiyomaro—"

"Gash…" Kiyomaro was trembling with irritation.

"What?"

"Don't worry about it now, Gash," Ed said. "You'll understand when you're older."

Gash wanted to understand it right then and there, but he accepted it and said, "Okay…"

"Let's not forget about the girl changes!" Folgore said.

Kiyomaro put his hand on his forehead.

"When girls get older, around Winry's age, they go through this unknown phase. Then, they get boing…"

"What's boing?" Gash asked.

Folgore hugged his chest. Umagon shivered. Al frowned, disgusted.

"What's boing?" Gash repeated.

"Breasts, boy, breasts!" Folgore said. "The things on girls' chests! Like on here!" He pointed to the CD titled "Groping Breasts." On it, Folgore was reaching for a woman's freakishly large breasts.

"They're the things Folgore gropes when he's around women," Kanchome said. "I've seen it a lot."

"That's disturbing…" Al said.

"Meru-meru-me…" Umagon nodded in agreement.

Ed got an idea.

* * *

"Boys get very awkward feelings towards girls when they're adolescent," Megumi explained to Tio and Winry. "And those feelings…they make boys feel like Ed-kun did today. It's hard to explain. Girls go through changes as well, both physical and emotional. You'll understand more later when you start to go through these changes, and if I tried to explain now, it'd take too long."

"So you're saying that Ed felt a kind of attraction towards me?" Winry asked.

"Sort of. After all, he said you had a nice body."

"What can I do?"

"There really isn't anything you can do to prevent it. Just tell another female if a boy tries to touch you on the chest or anywhere else inappropriate."

They all heard footsteps outside.

"When will you be able to do it?" Ed asked.

"As soon as you want me," Folgore replied.

"Is tomorrow good?"

"Perfect."

"Alright. Thanks, Folgore-san."

"No problem, boy!"

There were more footsteps. A door closed, and another one slammed.

_I wonder what all that was about… _Tio thought.

* * *

"Hey, Kiyomaro, wanna help me manage the money?" Ed asked once he had gotten back in Kiyomaro's bedroom.

"Well, tomorrow's Sunday…" Kiyomaro said. "And you are doing this for Megumi-san…right?"

Ed nodded.

"You sure?"

"Positive. But, I'll need to make more than 590,000 yen. You know, for food and cabs and presents for everyone."

"Presents?" Gash's eyes glowed. "I want presents!"

"I've never been to the United States before…" Al said. "I'm not trying to sound greedy, but it'd be nice…"

"Sure, why not?" Kanchome said. "I mean, someone else is paying for it."

"Meru-meru-me!" Umagon also wanted a souvenir.

"I'll do it," Kiyomaro said.

"Thanks a bunch, Kiyomaro," Ed said.

There was knocking on the door.

"That was a fine demonstration of what you should do when coming into my room, Ed," Kiyomaro said. "Come in!"

Tio opened the door and walked in.

"Oh, Tio, you're all done with your talk?" Kiyomaro said.

"Yep," Tio confirmed. "…Where's Folgore?"

"He left for some 'business' he had to take care of," Kanchome said, "and he said that I could sleep over since he's helping Ed make money for that trip tomorrow…"

Tio turned to Ed. "What trip?"

"You, Megumi, and me are going to New York in the U.S.," Ed explained. "Folgore-san's gonna help me make the money. This is a surprise for Megumi, so don't tell her anything."

"Promise I won't. If she asks, I'll tell her you're making money for alchemy supplies."

"You're the best, Tio. Thanks a lot."

"Meru?" Umagon merued.

"What's wrong, Umagon?" Gash asked.

"Meru-meru-me."

"Oh, he wants to know where Megumi-dono and Winry are."

"Winry's behind me," Tio said, "and Megumi went to work. She said she was running real late, and the next thing I knew, she was gone."

"Wait, Winry's where?" Ed said.

"Hello," Winry said, coming out from behind Tio and standing beside her.

"W-Winry…!" Ed stammered, surprised by her sudden appearance. "I thought you... Did you…?"

"Yup, I heard everything. Don't worry, I won't tell, either. I'll help with counting the money, too."

"So will I," Al volunteered.

Ed grinned.

"Can I help in any way, Ed?" Gash asked.

"Um…" Ed didn't want Gash to help Tio distract Megumi; he wasn't a good liar. "Are you good at math?"

"Math?" Gash thought for a moment. "I…don't really know what that is."

"There's nothing you can help with, then."

Gash looked so sad that Ed decided to let him help distract Megumi, anyway.

"You can't tell her about the trip, Gash," Ed explained. "If you do, it won't be as exciting. And, at the end, I'll tell Megumi that we're going somewhere, but not exactly where. You guys…please don't tell her. Promise me, Gash, that you won't say anything about this."

"I promise," Gash said.

_He'll slip, _Kiyomaro thought.

"I'll help with Folgore's performance," Kanchome offered. "We'll sing 'Invincible Folgore' together."

"Alright," Ed said.

"Meru-meru-me!" Umagon also wanted to help.

"Umm…" Ed paused. "What're you good at, Umagon?"

"Meru-meru-me…" Umagon sang.

"You've got to be kidding…" Kiyomaro mumbled. Umagon leapt over and bit his hand.

"Yeah, you can help with the performance, too, Umagon!" Gash suggested while Kiyomaro struggled to get Umagon off himself.

Umagon released himself from Kiyomaro and then shook his head. "Meru, meru-meru-meru-me…!" Umagon didn't want to sing "Groping Breasts."

"Then you can help us sing 'Invincible Folgore', Umagon," Kanchome said.

Umagon nodded. "Meru!"

"So, we all know what we're doing, right?" Ed asked for confirmation.

Everyone affirmed that they understood.

Ed stood up. "Okay, tomorrow. Tio and I will be here around sunrise. Don't forget."

"Okay, we won't!" Gash said enthusiastically.

* * *

Ed woke up the next morning and looked out the window. He could see the sun slowly rising.

He looked at Megumi's room on his way to Tio's room. Her bedroom door was closed, so she was, hopefully, still asleep. He tiptoed down the stairs and woke Tio up. She rolled out the bed and stumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"Where's Megumi…?" she asked drowsily.

"Still asleep," Ed said. "Hurry up and get ready. And do it quietly. We can't have Megumi waking up.

"Mmm…" Tio yawned as she staggered up the stairs.

Ed leaned against the wall, his hands in his pockets, staring at the ground. He thought about how everything could go wrong: Gash telling Megumi what was happening and almost dying because of Tio's strangling afterwards, Folgore, Umagon, and Kanchome's performance going wrong, miscounting the money and not being able to go on the trip because there wasn't enough… There were seemingly endless possibilities for failure.

"You okay, Ed?"

Ed looked up. Tio stood in front of him in her usual pink and red dress.

"Yeah," Ed said. "You all ready?"

"Yep." Tio opened the door and went out, Ed close behind her. On the way there, Ed saw the same man that called him Forrest while he was running sitting on his porch.

"Hey, Forrest!" the man teased.

Ed ignored him again.

"Who's that?" Tio asked.

"No one," Ed replied, annoyed.

When Ed and Tio arrived at Gash's house, Gash, Umagon, and Kanchome were standing near the porch.

"Hi, Ed, Tio!" Gash welcomed, waving.

"Hi," Tio said, smiling.

"Hey," Ed said. "Where's everyone else?"

"They went to the park to get ready," Kanchome answered.

"Awesome." Ed was glad that they had begun getting ready early. "There's no time to lose. Let's go."

Ed and Tio turned around and began walking towards the park. Umagon trotted next to Kanchome.

"W-Wait…"

Everyone turned around. Gash stood in the same position he was in when Ed and Tio had arrived.

"Naomi-chan…"

Ed opened his mouth, about to tell Gash that Naomi wasn't there, but Tio interrupted him with a threat.

"Gash," she growled, balling her hand into a fist and slowly holding it up, "if you don't come…"

Gash gulped. "O-Okay…" He ran after the others who had started walking again.

Just as Kanchome had said, Kiyomaro, Folgore, Winry, and Al were at the park. However, they were finished setting everything up. They were spaced out, as if they had been waiting for a long time. Ed wondered how long they had been there.

"Hey, everyone," Ed said.

Kiyomaro, Folgore, Winry, and Al looked at Ed, jerked out of their daydreams.

"Is everyone ready?" Ed said.

Everyone answered with a spirited "yes."

"Alright, we're open." Ed went over to where Kiyomaro, Winry, and Al sat. Folgore leaned against the table they sat at. Umagon lay next to him, and Kanchome sat on the table.

"Where do we go?" Gash asked.

"Look for Megumi," Ed replied.

"Got it," Tio said. "Come on, Gash." She grabbed his wrist and pulled him away.

* * *

_I wonder where everyone is, _Megumi thought, walking down the street. _Tio and Ed-kun didn't say they were going anywhere, and Al-kun and Winry aren't home. Maybe they all went somewhere together. I'd better check with Kiyomaro-kun._

She arrived at Kiyomaro's house. Umagon wasn't in his doghouse, so she assumed that he was with everyone else. She still wanted to check with Hana to make sure, so she knocked on the door.

"Hello, Megumi-chan," Hana said. She hadn't been told about everything that was happening. "If you're looking for everyone, they're at the park."

"Thank you," Megumi said. She turned and went towards the park. Hana closed the door.

On her way there, Megumi saw Gash and Tio walking on the other side in the opposite direction. She ran across the street towards them.

"Gash-kun, Tio!" she called.

They stopped and looked at her.

"Hi, Megumi-dono!" Gash said, grinning.

"Megumi…" Tio mumbled. She flashed Gash a threatening look that Megumi didn't notice. Gash gulped.

"Have you seen Ed-kun?" Megumi asked.

"Everyone's at the park," Tio said.

_Something's going on, _Megumi immediately suspected. _It's pretty strange that Gash-kun and Tio aren't with everyone else and that no one told me about this_. "Where are you two going?"

Tio couldn't think of anything to make up, so Gash answered for her.

"We were looking for you, actually," he said. "Ed told us to. I don't know why, though."

Megumi's suspicions grew. "Well, I'm going over there to see what they're doing. After all, I don't have work until this evening. Are you two coming, or…?"

"Sure, we'll come," Tio said.

They walked alongside each other to the park. They couldn't get close, however; there was a large crowd made up mostly of young women surrounding the entrance. The few boyfriends that were there looked unhappy. They couldn't see anything beyond the crowd and could faintly hear Folgore singing "Groping Breasts."

"What's going on?" Megumi said.

"Folgore's putting on a performance," Tio said. "Wanna watch?"

Megumi briefly thought of Folgore groping breasts. Since he would probably come through the crowd anyway, she decided to go watch. Tio didn't expect this to happen and reluctantly went around the park to the other entrance to get closer with Megumi and Gash. However, there was a crowd surrounding that area as well, so they decided to listen from there.

Megumi suddenly realized that this was what Folgore was discussing with Ed the day before. She wondered why Ed needed Folgore to perform for him. Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Hi, everyone." Sunbeam suddenly appeared next to Megumi.

"Oh, Sunbeam-san!" Megumi said, surprised. "What're you doing here?"

"I heard Folgore was performing here, so I stopped by since I've never heard him before. But I never expected him to be singing about this. It's pretty perturbing."

Megumi nodded in agreement.

They all heard the barely audible voice of Folgore announcing that Umagon, Kanchome, and he were going to perform "Invincible Folgore."

"Umagon's helping with the performance?" Sunbeam said for confirmation.

"Yup," Tio said. "See, Ed needed a way to make money for alchemy supplies.

Gash opened his mouth to say that he was making money for the trip, but Tio's devilish look made him close it. Megumi saw this and became even more suspicious. Even Sunbeam got a little skeptical.

"You forgot again, Gash."

They all turned around at the same time. Naomi was in her small pink car, grinning mischievously. Gash started shaking as soon as he saw her.

"We had a duel today, remember?" Naomi said, advancing a few feet.

"B-But, Naomi-chan," Gash stammered, "there's a performance going on, and we shouldn't interrupt…"

"Prepare yourself!" Naomi started pedaling as fast as she could. She shot towards Gash. Gash pushed his way through Sunbeam, Megumi, and Tio, apologizing quickly. Naomi flashed by them, running over Tio's foot.

"Hey, Tio, don't…" Megumi said, reaching out to stop her. But it was too late; Tio was sprinting towards Naomi, her hands in strangling position.

They pushed through the crowd, Gash saying "Sorry!" and "Excuse me!", Naomi laughing manically, and Tio screaming, enraged.

Ed, hearing the ruckus, looked back. He saw Gash's terrified face, Naomi's villainous face, and Tio's devilish face coming towards them.

"Crap…" he whispered.

"What's wrong?" Al asked.

"Gash is getting chased by Naomi, and they're coming straight towards us. Tio's running after them, too, and she looks PO'ed."

Kiyomaro put his head down.

"Who's Naomi?" Winry said.

"The worst devil since Tio," Ed replied. "Seriously, she's worse than her."

"Watch out!" Gash yelled. "Duck!"

Ed, Al, and Winry did so without hesitation. Gash went around the stand, and so did Naomi. Tio, however, jumped on the stand and leapt off. The stand cracked in the middle, and the ground vibrated as she landed.

Kanchome barely dodged Tio coming through and tripped over Umagon. As he flew backwards, he kicked Umagon's chin. Umagon's head went back, and he backflipped, falling on his stomach a few seconds after Kanchome, who had fallen some inches behind him. The music went on, but Folgore stopped singing and stared at the fallen duo, not knowing what to do.

Kiyomaro, Ed, Al, and Winry stared at the disaster.

"It's ruined…" Ed muttered, devastated.

"How cute."

They all looked at where the voice came from. Beside Ed was a young, blonde woman.

"W-What…?" Ed didn't understand. The performance was interrupted by Gash, Naomi, and Tio.

"Two girls chasing a boy… That's really cute." The woman reached into her purse, took out a handful of yen, and placed it on the table. Ed grinned.

"Thank you so much," he said, even though he didn't understand.

Another woman showed up beside the blonde. "Yeah, that's pretty cute." She took some yen from her purse and dropped it on the table.

People gradually gathered around the stand, dropping yen on the table. Others who couldn't get as close tossed money. Kiyomaro didn't understand why they were giving them money for the interruption, but he started counting the money anyway.

_People are giving us money for the chase even though it isn't part of the performance, _Ed thought. _Either they think it's part of it, or they're just pitying us for having it interrupted. _He started counting the money.

* * *

Megumi and Sunbeam stared into the crowd, trying to locate Gash, Tio, and Naomi.

"Let's stop them on the other side," Sunbeam said, running towards the entrance.

"Good idea," Megumi agreed, following him.

By the time they got to the other side, Naomi was nowhere in sight, and Tio was strangling Gash. Gash's tunic was covered in tire marks, and his eyes were rolling back and closing.

"Tio," Megumi began, "if you don't stop strangling Gash-kun, I'll make you come with me to work everyday, including today."

Tio put a final twist and squeeze on Gash's neck and then released her hands. Gash's neck, however, remained crushed and stretched out. Sunbeam went over to him and began massaging his neck.

Megumi's suspicions had grown a lot during the chase. She had had time to think things over. It was strange that Ed had Folgore, Umagon, and Kanchome perform to make money instead of making it himself just for alchemy supplies. It had to be something more than that.

* * *

"We're done," Ed said. Kanchome and Umagon were beside him, recovered from the accident earlier. Folgore had gone off to grope women's breasts. Women were gathering around Folgore, waiting to have their breasts groped, so they weren't giving them any money. Males weren't happy about that, so they didn't give them money. "We don't have enough money, there's no one left to perform, and people, at least the guys, are still expecting something."

"Aren't you forgetting someone?"

They looked at Megumi, Sunbeam, Gash, and Tio standing in front of the stand.

"You forgot that I'm an idol, didn't you?" Megumi said, taking off her pink-tinted sunglasses and winking.

"N-No, Megumi…" Ed said, looking down and blushing. "You don't have to…"

"No, Ed-kun. I want to," Megumi said, taking a CD out of her purse and holding it out to Tio. Tio took the CD and ran into the clearing that served as a stage with Megumi. She exchanged Folgore's CD with Megumi's CD and turned it on. Megumi began singing "Happy Tomorrow." People began looking at the stage and screaming and cheering, especially the males. They threw yen towards the stand. Others came up to the stand and placed yen on it.

"She helps even when I don't want her to…" Ed said.

"You'll make your last bit of needed money out of it," Kiyomaro said, watching yen fall in front of him.

"Yeah," Tio said, who had appeared next to Kanchome. Kanchome, startled, stumbled back. Umagon jumped back so he wasn't hit again. "You'd better thank her later."

"I will," Ed said. "And thank you all, really."

Gash, Tio, Kanchome, and Umagon sat down and watched Megumi. Ed leaned back and enjoyed the performance.

* * *

Everyone sat in Kiyomaro's bedroom after the show. Gash lay on his stomach. Vulcan played a game of kick the can with Tio's Volunlun and a small ball. Kanchome and Umagon waited patiently to play the winner. Folgore and Sunbeam sat on the bed, talking to each other. Kiyomaro sat in his chair talking to Megumi, who stood next to him. Ed, Al, and Winry were sitting in a circle, talking about what they thought New York was like. There was a pile of money bags filled with yen in the corner.

"Okay, it's time," Ed said once he, Al, and Winry had nothing more to say about New York. He stood up and went over to Megumi, who was giggling along with Kiyomaro.

"H-Hey, Megumi…" Ed stammered, unusually nervous. "I have to tell you something…"

"What is it, Ed-kun?" Megumi said.

Everyone started stopping their activities and staring at Megumi and Ed, awaiting the reaction from Megumi. It gradually became quiet.

"Well, first, I have to… Thanks for helping me earlier, Megumi. Without your help, it couldn't have been possible."

"You're welcome, Ed-kun."

"Anyway, I'm sure you figured out that I didn't do that for alchemy supplies."

Megumi nodded. Everyone was staring at Megumi and Ed now, and nobody said a word.

"Yeah. Um, you're a very charitable person. You've gotten me out of some tough situations, and…well…me, you, and Tio are going somewhere."

Megumi didn't bother asking where. Instead, she thanked everyone multiple times.

"I'm really happy about that!" she exclaimed. "I mean, for all of you to go through that… Thank you so much!"

_Whoa, she didn't have to get that happy… _Ed thought.

"It was no problem, Megumi-san," Kiyomaro said.

"Yeah, I had nothing to do," Winry said.

"Thank you all!" Megumi acknowledged again. "When are we leaving, Ed-kun?"

"In about three months," Ed replied. "We'll be gone for a week."

"Okay, I'll clear up my schedule." She looked at her watch. "I'm so sorry, everyone, but I have to go to work. Thank you!"

Everyone said their goodbyes, and Megumi left.

"She was so happy…" Ed said. "She didn't even ask where…"

"That's Megumi," Tio said, looking over her shoulder. "Even though she's busy, she's always happy."

"…I can see that."

"By the way, Ed, do you know why Megumi sings?"

Ed shook his head.

"It's to make people happy."

"Oh…"

"Hey, Tio, we still didn't finish," Gash said, pointing at the small ball.

"Meru-meru-me!" Umagon merued, holding up his dinosaur toy.

"Oh, right." Tio turned back around and began playing again. Sunbeam and Folgore picked up on where their conversation left off.

Kiyomaro went over to the small demons. "I'm surprised you didn't slip, Gash."

"Uh-huh…" Gash heard Kiyomaro's voice, but didn't interpret what he was saying. He was too concentrated on getting the ball past Tio, who was the goal.

Ed went over to them, too. "Yeah, Gash, thanks a lot."

"Uh-huh…"

"Hey, Ed," Tio said, "thanks for making Megumi happy."

Ed grinned, feeling a sense of accomplishment. Most of his guilt had disappeared since he had successfully made everything up to Megumi. Also, he was going to explore a new place.

But what he liked the most was seeing Megumi at her happiest.


	13. The Quarrel of Suicide

**Chapter Thirteen: The Quarrel of Suicide**

Before Ed knew it, three months passed, and he now sat in the window seat on a plane next to a fuming Tio. He recalled what had happened in the months that had quickly went by: he went to the park with Al and Winry to watch another one of Gash and Naomi's duels, which seemed to be held every other day. He watched one of Megumi's concerts with Kiyomaro, Gash, and Tio. He, Tio, and Winry went to Al's house to play. Ed lay in one of the beanbag chairs in the treehouse, sleeping. He trained with Megumi, learning more judo and aikido moves. Megumi had said that he was getting stronger and that he would be stronger than her soon, which made Ed eager to learn more. She also told Ed that he was becoming a better cook, but Ed still thought that he would never be near Megumi's level. He packed with Tio and Megumi for their trip to New York. Ed had looked up what the weather was going to be like, and, since it was going to be hot, they packed summer clothes. Luckily, Megumi was on her one month summer break, so school wasn't an issue. She had also taken off from work beforehand.

Ed and Tio had gotten into an argument about who would sit in the window seat on the way to the plane. Megumi suggested that one of them sit in the window seat on the way there and then the other on the way back. However, Ed and Tio couldn't come to an agreement of who was going to sit in the window seat on the way to New York. The argument went on until they boarded the plane. Ed and Tio both saw an empty three-seater in the middle of the plane at the same time and stared at it for a while, then at each other. The passengers watched with enjoyment as they raced to the seat, pushing each other on the way there. Ed tripped Tio, and she grabbed a seat to pull herself back up. She caught up to Ed and reached out to strangle him, but Ed grabbed her hand and thrust her back. Megumi caught her by her shoulders. She pushed off of Megumi and continued to run. But it was too late; Ed was already sitting in the window seat, sticking his tongue out swaggeringly. Megumi held Tio back from attacking Ed and promised her that she could sit in the window seat on the way back.

Now Ed sat, staring out the window, bored. It was a twelve hour nonstop flight, and Ed hadn't brought anything to keep himself entertained. He had only brought his alchemy supplies, and he couldn't experiment onboard. He didn't have anything to talk about, and, even if he did, he didn't want to talk to Megumi since Tio was between them, and he couldn't talk to Tio because she was still angry.

Two hours passed. Tio's head rested on Megumi's shoulder as she slept. Megumi read a teen magazine while Ed looked through the alchemy book.

Three hours passed. Tio was now awake, eating potato chips given to her by a flight attendant, not angry anymore.

Ed managed to make himself fall asleep. After he woke up, he asked Megumi much longer the flight was. She checked her watch and then thought for a moment.

"Four hours," she finally said.

Ed fell back asleep.

* * *

"Ed-kun."

"Huh…?"

"We're here."

"Mmm…" Ed stirred and then sat up. He saw that Tio and Megumi were both holding bags. People behind them were shuffling off. He stood on the seat, got his bag from the compartment above, and followed the two girls off the plane.

Ed looked around the huge airport as he, Tio, and Megumi made their way towards an exit to go to the hotel and put their bags away: there were people everywhere, and they were all taller than him, except the kids around Tio's age. There were coffee shops, doughnut shops, people giving away flyers, homeless people shaking jars with change inside and people passing by them, dropping nickels and dimes into the jars.

They were now walking outside. Ed hardly had room between Megumi and a large man beside him. There were people everywhere, an endless amount of traffic, and never-ending honking.

Ed's head began to pound. "Wouldn't it be better to just catch a cab?"

"Oh, I just remembered," Megumi said. "We forgot to exchange the yen for U.S. dollars at the airport, so we can't."

Ed looked behind him. There were too many people to turn around and go back.

"We might as well go drop our things off at the hotel, anyway, since we're heading there," Megumi continued. "We should ask for directions to the nearest bank using that book you have, too."

A man in a red and blue costume swung above them to the right. People started to cheer, and some started to boo. Ed, Tio, and Megumi looked at the incognito man swing. The masked man held on to something invisible.

A small boy next to Tio pointed at the disguised man and said, "Hey, Mommy, look! It's Spidey-Man!"

Ed, Tio, and Megumi watched the anonymous person leap from whatever he was holding on to and attach himself to a building. He briefly waved and then swung off the building, disappearing behind another, taller building.

Ed couldn't believe his eyes. He looked at Tio and Megumi. The girls were still staring at the building in disbelief. He looked at the crowd moving around them.

"Hey, we'd better go," Ed said, tugging at both Tio and Megumi's sleeves. "We're holding up the crowd."

The girls started to walk. Tio kept staring at the building, mouth agape, as she walked.

After walking monotonously, the crowd and cars started to slow down. Ed, Tio, and Megumi began hearing worried and scared shouts.

"He's gonna jump!"

"Can anyone go up there and stop him?!"

"Damn! The door's locked! We can't get in!"

"Where's Spider-Man when you need him?"

The crowd finally came to a stop. A few hurrying businesspeople pushed their way through. Cars were stopping on the side and in the middle of the road. People were getting out of their cars, hurrying to the scene. People rushed towards the area from all directions. Some people were talking on their cell phones, trying to get the police. Ed, Tio, and Megumi looked up at the broad-shouldered, shadowy man standing at the top on the edge of the building, staring at the crowd below him.

Megumi took out her camera. She looked through the lens and zoomed in on him. He was a young, muscular, handsome man with black spiky hair and dark brown eyes.

"Let me see!" Tio said anxiously, holding her hands out. Megumi gave the camera to her. After studying the man for a moment, she handed the camera to Ed. Ed looked at the man for a long time. Then, he finally recognized him as the clerk from the alchemy shop he frequently went to. Ed gravely gave the camera back to Megumi, continuing to stare at the clerk.

Tio and Megumi stared at Ed, worried. His eyes were big, as if surprised and troubled.

"Are you okay, Ed-kun?" Megumi asked.

Ed nodded. He had to stop him. Not only was he worried about the clerk, but he was also worried about what had happened to the alchemy shop in the short time they had been gone. Without the alchemy shop, he would eventually run out of alchemy supplies, and it would become very difficult to study alchemy.

Ed didn't want Tio and Megumi to worry themselves to death if it was someone they knew. He decided to stop the man from jumping on his own.

* * *

Megumi stared up at the man on the rooftop. She was hoping that the police would come soon. Tio thought similarly to Megumi.

"We have to do something," Tio said. "There has to be something we can do."

Megumi shook her head. "We don't have a way of getting on top of the building, and we don't speak English."

They stared at the rooftop for another moment. The man stared down at the edge of the rooftop, preparing himself for the jump.

Tio looked beside herself. Ed's spot had been replaced with an old woman. "Hey, Megumi, where's Ed?"

Megumi looked next to Tio. Ed had disappeared.

* * *

Ed had managed to push his way through the crowd. He was now deep in an alley where no one could see him, alchemizing a rope to get onto the roof. Alchemy supplies were spread out everywhere from hurried searching through his bag. When he was done alchemizing the rope, he stuffed everything back into his bag and then threw the rope towards the rooftop of the building. The hook of the rope dug itself into the rooftop. Ed slung his bag on his shoulder and began to climb.

He arrived at the top. He tossed his bag onto the rooftop and then pulled himself on using the rope.

The clerk heard the noise of the bag being dropped and turned around. He stared at Ed for a few seconds and then said, "You're that boy that comes to the alchemy shop all the time with that other boy... What're you doing all the way in the U.S.?"

"Vacation," Ed replied, taking out supplies needed for a bungee jump. "You're jumping, huh?"

The man nodded and then returned his gaze to the ground. People were wondering what was going on and if someone else had gone on the rooftop. "I'm didn't come here for nothing."

"You came all the way to the U.S. just to jump down a building?" Ed asked as he clapped his hands and began alchemizing the bungee ropes.

"Yeah." The clerk turned around and watched Ed alchemize the ropes.

"You could've just gone to Tokyo for that." Ed took the finished ropes and hooked them on the opposite side where no one would see him.

"New York has higher buildings than Tokyo, and the police force over here is terrible, since Spider-Man does most of the work for them."

Before Ed had a chance to ask who Spider-Man was, the clerk continued. "You're going to stop me, aren't you?"

"What did you think I came up here for? I need the alchemy shop, and I don't want to see a person go splat on the ground." Ed paused. "By the way, what happened to the shop? Everything was just fine when I left."

"Actually, it wasn't 'just fine.' I was losing money. Even with you and that other boy-"

"I'm Ed, and the 'other boy' is Al."

"—coming there almost every day and buying alchemy supplies, it wasn't enough. Not enough to make a living off of, anyway."

"So you had to close the shop?"

The clerk nodded. "I literally don't have anything left." He turned around and looked down again.

"How about spending your last minutes alive bungee jumping?" Ed pointed to the two bungee ropes lying on the opposite side of the building.

"You're going to make me go bungee jumping so I'll get too scared to jump on my own, right?"

Ed stared at the clerk. The clerk had seen right through his plan. Then, Ed saw the clerk's right foot slide off the building.

* * *

There were confused shouts coming from the crowd, such as, "Is someone else up there?", "Who's that guy talking to?", and "Where did the lightning come from?" Megumi and Tio continued to focus on the man on the building.

"He's talking to someone, Megumi," Tio said. "And those lightning strikes… Alchemy…?"

Megumi nodded, not taking her eyes off the rooftop.

Two police cars parked beside each other on the side of the road. Two policemen hurried out of each. One was short, another medium-sized, the other with a small build, and one tall and skinny.

"Is there any way to get up there?" the tall policeman asked.

"If there was, some of us woulda been up there by now!" a young man in front of the policemen snapped.

A news truck parked behind the police car. A female reporter got out, accompanied by a cameraman. The cameraman focused in the on the reporter.

"We're here live in front of an unknown building on Ann Street in New York City," she reported. "A young man, who can be no older than thirty, is standing on the edge, about to jump."

The cameraman pointed his camera at the man on the rooftop.

"It looks like no one can go up there and stop him," the reporter continued. A woman from the crowd came up to the reporter and whispered in her ear. "…I've just been told that the police are trying to hook a rope into the building to stop the man. We'll try to get up closer to see if they're successful or not. They're also setting up a trampoline. I've also just been told that there could be someone else on the building as well. We currently don't know if that someone else is contemplating suicide as well. Jeff, can you zoom in, please?"

The cameraman zoomed in on the building.

"…I don't know what you can see up there. The viewers can see it, but..."

"T-The man is stepping off the building…and…and…" The cameraman watched in horror as the man leaned forward and fell. The shouts from the crowd got louder.

"Is the trampoline done?"

"Can somebody catch him?!"

Mothers covered their children's eyes as the falling man got closer to the ground. Then, there were confused shouts as he bounced back up onto the building when he was halfway to the ground.

"W-What…?"

"Did the police do that, or was it Spider-Man?"

"I…think there was an elastic rope or something tied to his leg."

"…Was he faking us out by going bungee jumping?"

They all saw a young boy step at the edge of the building, giving his hand the clerk and helping him up.

"Ed-kun…" Megumi said softly.

* * *

Ed pulled one of the bungee ropes out of the ground as the clerk stepped off the building. He hooked it closer to the clerk and lassoed the clerk's ankle, pulling it so it wouldn't loosen and slip off the clerk's foot. The clerk leaned forward and fell. Ed put his foot on the hook to make sure it stay put as the clerk went further down.

The clerk was pulled up and landed on his back on the edge of the rooftop. He sat up and shook from the experience of falling. Ed went over to him and extended his hand. The man stared at it for a moment, and then took it, using it to pull himself up.

"Are you gonna try to jump again?" Ed asked.

The man shook his head.

"Good. You'll be able to get your life back together. Just get another job." Ed untied the rope from the clerk's ankle and then pulled out both hooks from the ropes.

Meanwhile, Tio and Megumi continued to stare at the building. People around them did so as well to see if the man was going to try to jump again. However, over half of the crowd had moved on since the suicidal attempt was a fake. The reporter was still reporting what had happened, and the police were still, unsuccessfully, trying to hook their rope into the rooftop. The trampoline was still set up just in case Ed or the clerk fell.

"Well, there's only one way to confirm that's Ed," Tio said. Then, she shouted, "There's a square-headed pipsqueak on the roof!"

Ed's red, angry face appeared over the edge of the rooftop. "Who's that square dot on the face of the ear-" His left foot slipped off the building. The clerk tried to grab his ankle, but it was too late; Ed had already begun his fall.

"Ed-kun!" Megumi yelled.

People began gathering in front of the building again with worried cries.

"Now the other guy—a kid—is falling down!"

"Wow! That kid just spoke another language!"

"Spider-Man! Damn it, where the hell is that spider?!"

"Stop relying on Spider-Man! He's been gone the whole damn time!"

"Is that kid bungee jumping, too?"

Ed fell on something semi-soft before he hit the ground. He looked at costumed hands that held him. He looked in the face of the masked man that had somehow attached himself to the building before. He attached himself to the building Ed had fallen from, stopping their fall.

"You okay?" the masked man asked in English.

Ed, not able to understand what he was saying, stared at him blankly.

"…You're not from around here, are you?"

Ed kept staring at him with confusion and wonder.

"You must be a tourist. No wonder you can't understand me. And I can't speak any other language… Ah, well, can't help that. Better take you down."

The red and blue freak scaled down the building by simply sprinting. Ed was amazed. People on the ground cheered as Ed and the freak came down.

"Where were you, Spider-Man?!"

"You finally decided to come."

"Late as usual, Spider-Man."

"Sorry for not being here earlier," the freak replied to the angry shouts from the crowd. "You wouldn't believe how many crimes I ran into on my way here. Also, I was coming from across the city." He gently touched the ground and put Ed down near the police.

"Thanks," Ed said, "but you have to save the alchemy clerk on top of the building, too."

The freak stared at Ed. "Well, I know that the first word means 'thank you', so you must be Japanese. Since I can't ask why you were up there, even though I can kind of figure out why, I'd better go get the man still on top of the building. He was the one who was actually trying to commit suicide, and you just fell by mistake. That's what it looked like, anyway." He glued himself to the building again and climbed up like a spider.

_How does he do that? _Ed thought.

"Ed-kun!"

Ed turned around. Megumi and Tio were excusing themselves as they pushed through the crowd that was also moving towards Ed. People stared at the girls, not knowing what they were saying.

Ed went towards them, ignoring the people who were trying to question him. Megumi greeted him with a tight hug. She released herself from him.

Tio crossed her arms. "That was dangerous."

"You were the one who made me fall!" Ed yelled.

"I just shouted. You were the one who fell."

Ed's face became red.

"I'm glad you were trying to stop that man from jumping," Megumi interrupted. "It would've been scary, seeing him fall on the ground."

"You don't remember that guy?" Ed said, his face returning to its normal color. "I know you were only there once or twice, but you guys should've still faintly remembered him. He was the clerk from the alchemy shop."

"Oh, yeah," Tio said. "I remember him."

"I remember, too," Megumi said.

"We should go to the front," Ed suggested. "I think that freak went back up to get the clerk. He shouldn't resist; he was pretty shaken up after bungee jumping."

They pushed their way through the crowd again, ignoring the questions and praises from people. As soon as they got to the front of the building, the red and blue freak landed in front of Ed, Tio, and Megumi. The clerk was tightly attached to the freak on the freak's back. He let himself off.

"Thanks, Spider-Man," the clerk said in English. "That won't happen again, I promise."

The freak nodded in approval. A wave of people and reporters, including the first reporter that had shown up, gathered around them. The reporters poked their microphones in the freak, the clerk, and Ed's faces and began talking over each other. Ed pushed the microphones away, shaking his head while doing so. More police had shown up, trying unsuccessfully to calm the crowd. People were speaking over each other and shoving others aside to get close to Megumi, Tio, Ed, the freak, and the clerk.

"I want my boy to get up close to Spider-Man at least once!"

"My kids adore Spider-Man!"

"I'm going back to Florida soon! I wanna see Spider-Man!"

"Why were you trying to commit suicide?" the first reporter who had shown up in the beginning asked.

"How did it feel to fall?" another reporter inquired.

"Were you surprised when you came straight back up instead of falling on the ground?"

"Why were you also up there?"

"Were you trying to commit suicide as well?"

"What were those lightning strikes?"

"What is your relation to this boy"—the reporter pointed to Ed—"who was the last to fall?"

"How do you do what you do, Spider-Man?" a middle-aged man asked.

"You're my favorite superhero, Spidey-Man," the boy that was beside Tio earlier said.

"One at a time, please!" the freak shouted. "I can't understand a word anyone's saying! And don't try asking the boy! He doesn't speak English!" He addressed Megumi and Tio. "Do you two speak English?"

Megumi and Tio stared at him.

"The two girls don't speak English, either!"

The crowd quieted down a little, but there was still chaos.

"I'd love to help you all get out of here," the freak said, "but I can't with all these people."

"We'd better catch a cab," the clerk said to Megumi, Tio, and Ed in Japanese. "I'm in no mood for answering questions, and I don't want you guys caught up in this, especially since none of you speak English and I caused all this."

A quarter of the crowd, including three reporters, followed them as they tried to get to the street.

"Let us through!" the clerk yelled. Some people, intimidated, backed up and left them alone, but others, including reporters, continued to gang up on them. The clerk pushed some people aside. "No! Stop! No questions, please!"

The four policemen that had arrived in the beginning came to their aid, trying to keep the crowd away from Tio, Ed, Megumi, and the clerk.

"Thank you!" the clerk said to them.

"You need counseling," the tall policeman said. "Come to our station in a couple of days when everything's died down, and we'll work something out. But for now, try getting home. And if you try committing suicide again, I'm sure Spider-Man will stop you."

"If you don't come to our station," the short policeman began, "we'll find you."

"I will," the clerk said, squeezing through a man and a woman. Megumi, Ed, and Tio followed him closely. Megumi held Tio and Ed's hands firmly.

They finally got to the street. The clerk waved his right hand. Three cabs raced to them. They chose the one closest to them. The clerk sat in the front while Megumi, Tio, and Ed sat in the back.

The clerk told the driver to go to the hotel that Tio, Megumi, and Ed were staying at. After answering the driver's questions, addressed at all of them, but mostly Ed and the clerk, the clerk looked back at them and said, "I'll pay. This is all my fault."

"You don't have to," Megumi said. "We have plenty of money."

"Yeah," Ed said. "You said you were running out of money."

"No, that's okay," the clerk said. "I feel indebted to you, Ed."

"Uh…thanks."

"You all are on vacation, right?"

"Yeah," Ed said while Tio nodded and Megumi said, "Yes."

"I'll translate for you all."

Megumi smiled. "Thank you so much!"

"Thanks!" Tio said.

Ed grinned.

"If it explains things a little more," the clerk continued, "I'm American, so English is my native language."

_Now that I think about it, he doesn't look Japanese, _Ed thought.

"Since most of the Japanese are into weird things," the clerk went on, "I decided to open the alchemy shop in Japan. I thought I could make a nice living there. Also, I've always wanted to live in Japan."

"Hey, don't stereotype us like that," Ed said.

"I said 'most,' but sorry if I offended any of you. By the way, my name is Jason."

Tio and Megumi briefly introduced themselves.

"Oh, you're that idol," Jason said to Megumi. "I think I've seen you on a couple posters before. I didn't recognize you when you came into my shop with those sunglasses on."

"I'll give you a ticket to one of my concerts one day," Megumi offered. "Anyway, where are you staying, Jason-san?"

"No honorifics, please. I don't like the way they sound with my name, so please call me Jason. Well, since I was planning on dying, I don't have anywhere to stay."

"You can stay with us," Ed proposed.

"No, that's okay; I don't want to ruin your vacation too much. I'll see if I can get a hotel room as well."

They arrived at the hotel. The first thing Ed noticed about it was that it was eighteen stories tall. He stared at it, wishing that he was tall like it. He imagined himself as tall and muscular; he wished for mostly tallness in the near future.

Ed saw Tio reaching for her bag out of the corner of his eye. He quickly snatched it and grinned. Tio smiled as Ed picked his bag up and slid out of the car. Megumi was standing outside the taxi's door, holding her bag. She had seen everything that had happened.

"That was really nice of you," she said.

Ed grinned even more. He suddenly felt weight leave his right hand. He looked at it. Tio's bag was gone, and Jason was holding it.

"Hey, I could've held it myself," Ed said, a little irritated.

"I'm indebted to you," Jason said. "I'll do anything to help you in any way, even if it makes you mad."

They entered the lobby. It was spacious and had a high ceiling. It was a perfect circle with a T.V. in the middle and soft benches surrounding the T.V. Megumi checked in for herself, Tio, and Ed and then gave the room key to Ed. Ed put it in his pocket.

"Go up to room 424 on the fourteenth floor," she said. "I'll stay with Jason and see if he can get a room."

"Okay," Ed said. He went over to Jason, who was talking with the counter worker, and yanked Tio's bag from him. Jason abruptly looked at him and then resumed talking to the counter worker.

"Let's hope he can get a room," Tio said, getting into the elevator in a small hallway not far from the check-in counter.

"Yeah," Ed said, coming in after Tio. He stood in the middle while Tio pushed the button with "14" on it. She hurried to the back of the elevator, gripping the railing. The elevator jerked upwards. The sudden movement made Ed stumble back and hit the wall with his shoulder. He bounced off the wall and almost fell. Tio laughed. Ed threw her bag at her. It hit her in the stomach, and she fell on her back. She immediately lifted the bag and threw it into the wall. She stood up and wrenched her hands.

The elevator opened, and a husband and wife watched the struggling duo: Tio was trying to strangle Ed, and Ed was running around the elevator, avoiding every one of Tio's attempts by ducking and jumping. He wasn't watching where he was going, however, and tripped over Tio's bag, which was on the elevator floor. Ed fell on his stomach and then rolled to the right to avoid Tio lunging at him. Tio hit the wall headfirst while Ed grabbed her bag and ran out of the elevator. Tio charged after him.

They ran down the hallway. Ed looked at each room he passed, looking for the number "424" engraved in one of the doors.

Tio was slowly catching up. Ed threw her bag at her, and it hit her again in the stomach, sending her flying back. Ed watched Tio run after him again, this time faster than before, the bag slung over her shoulder. She took the bag and pelted it towards him. Ed had no time to dodge, and it hit him in the back. He was sent forward, and he fell. The bag crushed him, but he managed to throw it off using his back and carry it with both hands. He looked at the doors; he was running past room 417. He pegged Tio's bag at Tio one last time, sending her back again.

Ed slid in front of room 424. He took the key out of his pocket and slowly slid it through the slot in the doorknob. A red light flashed. Ed tried the door, but it was locked. He looked down the hallway. Tio was sprinting towards him, the bag being carried with both hands. She was about to throw it at him again. Ed slid the key through the slot multiple times, each faster than the last. A green light flashed each time. He opened the door and went in the room, quickly closing and locking it. Tio slammed into the door, then banged on it and kicked it, infuriated.

* * *

"I'm glad you were able to get a room, Jason," Megumi said as she rode up the elevator with Jason beside her.

"Yeah," Jason replied. "Right across from your room, too."

The elevator stopped, and they stepped out of it. They began to walk down the hallway. Not soon after they began to walk, they heard banging and screaming. Megumi started to run, and Jason ran after her.

"Do you know what's going on?" he asked.

"Tio's angry," Megumi answered.

They came to a stop once the enraged Tio came in sight: she was banging on the door with her bag and practically roaring.

"Tio," Megumi said.

Tio instantly stopped her shrieking and dropped the bag. She pointed to the door. "Ed's in there."

Megumi knocked on the door. "Ed-kun, it's me."

The door was immediately opened, revealing Ed's guilty face. Tio, remembering her anger, almost lunged at Ed, but Megumi held out her hand, and Tio stopped.

"So, did Jason get a room?" Ed said.

Megumi moved aside. Ed saw Jason and grinned.

"Where's he staying?" Ed asked.

"I'm right across from you all," Jason answered. "We also went to a nearby bank and exchanged the yen for dollars, but not without some annoyances."

"Great…" Ed's eyes became distant. Tio, Megumi, and Jason stared at him with concern.

"Are you alright, Ed-kun?" Megumi said.

"Yup," Ed said, perking up.

Tio ran into the room past Ed, carrying her bag. "It's big!" she exclaimed, dropping it. "There're three beds and a T.V.!"

"See ya tomorrow, Jason!" Ed said, running in the room and letting his bag slip down his arm and fall.

Megumi smiled. "Good night, Jason-san."

"Bye," Jason said, opening the door to his room. "And it's just 'Jason.'" He went in his room and closed the door.

Megumi went into the room. Tio and Ed were running around, looking in the cabinets, on the desk, and in the bathroom.

_It must be especially exciting for Ed-kun, _Megumi thought. _After all, he probably has never been in a hotel before, and, if he has, it was probably when he was still with his parents._

Tio jumped on the bed in the middle and rolled onto her stomach. She sunk into the mattress. "It's so soft…"

Ed climbed on the bed closest to the window and lay on his back. He immediately closed his eyes began to snore.

"He must've been tired," Tio said.

"Well, after everything we've been through today…" Megumi took a magazine out from her bag, climbed on the available bed, propped up a pillow, and began reading.

_He would never be able to have Megumi's job, _Tio thought.

* * *

"Get up, Ed. I'm ready to go out."

Ed turned over. _"You're _ready."

"Everyone else is ready, too."

Ed abruptly sat up. Megumi was sitting on Tio's bed, while Tio was in front of him. He threw the covers off himself and went into the bathroom. After a brief period of time, he came out, fully dressed. He went out of the room, flashing a look at Jason, and ran down the hallway towards the elevators. Tio, Megumi, and Jason followed him.

The fact that Ed was exploring a new place made him excited. He ran even faster.


	14. The Quarrel of Vacation

**Chapter Fourteen: The Quarrel of Vacation**

Ed, Tio, Megumi, and Jason were all in a department store. They split the money evenly between all four of them, even though Jason refused multiple times. Tio, Megumi, and Jason had begun to walk further into the store, but Ed remained where he was. Realizing that Ed wasn't with them, they stopped and waited for him.

"Aren't you coming, Ed-kun?" Megumi asked.

"I don't wanna go shopping with two girls," Ed said. "Girls shop forever, so I'll go buy gifts on my own and meet you all later." He turned and walked in the opposite direction.

"But how are you gonna buy gifts when you can't understand what the clerks are saying?" Tio pointed out.

Ed froze. Then, after a couple of seconds of silence, he reached in his bag and pulled out his English to Japanese book and flipped through it. There wasn't anything useful to help him in his shopping experience, considering what the clerks said when he bought things with Tio and Megumi in Japan.

Megumi giggled. "Just come with us, Ed-kun."

Ed reluctantly accompanied them. The shopping experience wasn't as bad as he thought: they only bought T-shirts and souvenirs, so they weren't shopping for long.

After they had finished, they looked for gifts specifically for their friends back in Japan. They had purchased a big, informational book for Kiyomaro, a "Magellan Coral" zinnia for Hana, a small T-shirt designed with an American flag for Umagon, a red, white, and blue wristband for Kanchome, a hat with the year "1776" on it for Sunbeam, a wrench for Winry, and Adidas for Al. Tio had suggested making an American Vulcan for Gash. Ed agreed to help design it.

"We still need to get something for Folgore-san," Megumi said.

"Don't worry about that," Ed said. "I'll get something that can't be bought."

Tio, Megumi, and Jason all wondered what Ed's idea for a gift for Folgore would be.

After they finished looking for gifts, they went to the clothes section. Ed snuck away while Tio and Megumi were looking at clothes, taking Jason with him. They went to the nearby jewelry counter and bought a watch for Jason. Jason decided not to reject since Ed would buy it anyway. They also bought a pinky ring for Tio and a gold necklace for Megumi. Once they bought the accessories, they snuck back to the girls while Jason put his watch on. Ed grabbed Tio's left hand and slipped the ring onto her pinky. She stared at it, surprised, and then looked at Jason, who smiled and shook his head. She now looked for Ed, who was no longer behind her, but behind Megumi, standing on a stool he had quickly pulled up some feet away, standing on his toes to reach Megumi's neck to put on the necklace as Megumi bent down to pick up a shirt she had dropped. Megumi, feeling the cold necklace touch her neck, remained bent down to allow Ed more time to put it on her. After coming close to falling a few times, Ed successfully put it on her and leapt down from the stool and quickly put it back where it was. After many thanks from the girls and Jason, they went out to return to the hotel.

Ed saw a woman with freakishly large breasts out of the corner of his eye behind them while they walked. While they were waiting for the light to change so that they could cross the street, Ed asked Megumi for her camera. Surprisingly, Megumi didn't question him. When she gave it to him, Ed took the picture of the woman when she was watching an advertisement on a building across the street. He gave the camera back to Megumi. Megumi stared at it, speechless. Jason stared at the picture with her. Tio jumped to glimpse the photo. When she landed, she said, "You're a pervert, Ed."

"It's for Folgore," Ed said. "We have to get it developed, and then you can delete it, Megumi."

Jason led the way to a store where they developed photos. After one hour of browsing that store and similar stores around it, they got the photo back. Megumi immediately deleted that picture off her camera.

When they were back in the hotel, Tio opened the door to their room and went inside, Megumi and Ed following. They heard barking. Tio stopped.

"Is there a dog in here?" she said.

"It sure sounds like it," Ed said.

"Keep going," Megumi said.

Tio did as she was told. After peeking behind the wall, she went in and sat on her bed.

"A dog isn't in here," she said.

"The barking must be coming from the room next to us," Megumi said, sitting on her bed.

"Why did they bring a dog in a hotel…?" Ed complained, lying on his bed on his stomach.

After hours of nonstop barking while trying to watch a skunk chasing a cat with a white streak on her back on T.V., Ed decided to see if others were suffering with them, so he went into Jason's room and asked him if he heard the barking. Partly to Ed's dismay and partly to his gladness, Jason didn't hear the barking. Ed went back into his room, dug in the bag with all the gifts inside, took out Winry's wrench, and unlocked the door that connected the dog's room with his.

"I hope you're just asking them to quiet their dog down, Ed-kun," Megumi said, looking up from her magazine.

"Depends if they're there or not," Ed replied, going into the dog's room. To his relief, the dog—a Rottweiler--was the only one inside. The dog barked louder and charged towards Ed. Ed disappeared from the dog's sight, leaving the dog looking around in confusion. Then, Ed leaned over and hit the dog's head from behind with the wrench. The dog was instantly knocked unconscious. Ed, satisfied, left the room.

"What did you do to that dog?" Megumi asked.

"They weren't there, so I put it to sleep," Ed answered, putting the wrench back in the bag with the other gifts inside.

"I'd hate to see what that dog's owners would do to you," Tio said.

"That dog's so stupid, they'll think it hurt itself," Ed said, climbing onto his bed. "I mean, they left it alone all day."

Megumi put her magazine down and crossed her arms. "Ed-kun…"

"Look, it's bedtime, I'm about to go to bed, and I don't wanna hear that damn dog bark all night. And they shouldn't have brought a freaking dog into a hotel in the first place, especially next to a room with other people in it."

They suddenly heard shouts and screams from next door.

"Blackie!"

"Oh my God!"

"What happened?!"

"Is he okay?!"

"He's knocked out!"

_They…don't have to act so surprised, _Ed thought. _It's only a bump on the head. It's not like it's gonna die._

"Vet! We need the vet!"

After hearing that, the screaming gradually died down. Megumi gave Ed a look while Tio alternated between looking at Megumi and Ed, wondering what would happen.

"Too bad I can only speak Japanese," Ed said. He pulled the covers on him and fell asleep.

* * *

The next day, Ed, Tio, Megumi, and Jason toured New York on top of a bus. Even though Ed, Tio, and Megumi couldn't understand what was being said by the tour guide, they still enjoyed exploring the city.

After the tour, they walked around, going into various shops, including expensive clothing stores, Chinese food shops, and technology stores. They found themselves in Central Park before long. They walked across the park, ending up in a corner of it.

Ed looked around the park after they stopped, wondering how long it took to get to one side to the other. "Hey, Tio, want to race and see who can get to the other side first?"

"Okay," Tio said, lining up with Ed. On Megumi's signal, they took off, Megumi and Jason following them, walking. This time, however, Ed and Tio did not push and trip each other on the way there, making it truly a race.

The victor was Tio by a small margin, making it known to Ed that he couldn't win a race against her without cheating. Despite this, Ed thought it was only because Tio was a demon while he was human. He also thought that, since he barely lost and was able to sprint the whole time, he was really getting stronger.

That night, while Tio and Megumi were sleeping, Ed lay wide awake. He hadn't been able to go to sleep, even though the dog hadn't been making noise since they got back. No matter what Ed did—closing his eyes for a long period of time, counting sheep, thinking about nothing—he couldn't go to sleep.

Then, Tio got up and went into the bathroom, turning the light on and closing the door. Ed knew that this was an opportunity. He rolled out of bed as quietly as possible, then, once he was standing up, he looked at Megumi to make sure she wasn't waking up. When he saw that she was still asleep, he snuck into the closet in the small hallway across from the bathroom behind his, Tio's, and Megumi's jackets, waiting for Tio to come out. After some seconds passed, he heard Tio flush the toilet. The light in the bathroom was turned off, and the door was opened, revealing Tio's sleepy face. As soon as Tio took a step outside the bathroom, Ed jumped out of the closet in front of her, twisting his face in ghostlike way. Tio's eyes popped out, and she briefly screamed, stumbling backwards and almost falling. She stepped out of the bathroom again, hurriedly looked both ways repeatedly, and then ran back into the main room, screaming again. Ed almost choked from laughing so hard.

Megumi first woke up when she heard the toilet being flushed. She looked at Tio and Ed's beds and saw that both beds were empty. Before she had a chance to think about what could be happening, she heard a yelp, some silence, and then screaming. Tio ran in the room, gripping the tip of her bed's mattress and breathing heavily. Then, Ed came out, laughing hard. Megumi sat up, now wide awake. Ed looked at her.

"Hey, I couldn't sleep," he said coolly.

Megumi sighed. "Are you okay, Tio?"

Tio continued to breathe heavily.

"Le gasp… Le phew… Le pant…" Ed mocked.

Tio picked up the T.V. remote on the desk near her bed and threw it at him. He dodged it. Ed picked the remote up and lifted it up.

"It's time to go back to bed," Megumi interrupted before Ed could throw the remote back at Tio. Ed and Tio reluctantly obeyed.

This time, Ed managed to fall asleep quickly.

* * *

The next morning, the site Ed, Tio, Megumi, and Jason saw was the Empire State Building, the tallest building in New York. On a tour, they learned that the building was 102 stories tall, making it the 12th tallest building in the world, and cost over forty million dollars to build, thanks to Jason's translating. Jason unwillingly translated that over thirty people committed suicide using the building. Megumi, thinking that someone could jump from the building anytime, wanted to leave as soon as possible so she wouldn't have to see it. Ed and Tio agreed. Ed agreed since he didn't want Jason to mysteriously disappear and jump from the building without them knowing.

After the tour was over, they rode the skyride, a virtual tour simulator, which took them around the city, providing them with a better view of the city than the tour they had taken the day before. Even though she knew it was virtual, Tio still held onto Megumi for most of the ride. Then, once she had gotten used to the height, she let go of Megumi and began to enjoy the tour.

After the skyride, Ed, Tio, Megumi, and Jason returned to the hotel. Once again, there was no barking from the room next to Ed, Tio, and Megumi's.

"They must've checked out," Megumi said.

"They overreacted when they saw the dog," Ed began, "so they probably won't be leaving it alone in a hotel for a while."

That evening, Megumi looked in the container where the ice was kept. It was empty.

"I'm going out for some ice," Megumi told Ed and Tio. "Please don't start anything while I'm gone."

"We won't," Ed and Tio said at the same time.

The ice dispenser was inconveniently in the lobby, so Megumi had to take the elevator down, which took a while.

Meanwhile, Tio sat behind Ed on his bed while they watched silent cartoons on T.V. Ed didn't pay much attention when she sat behind him. Tio poked the upper left corner of Ed's back. Ed, tickled, reached towards the spot where Tio poked him to scratch, but, in the process, fell on part of the bedpost and then on the floor. He rubbed his aching behind while Tio laughed. He gave her an angry look.

Ed almost punched Tio, his fist only separated by her face by a few inches. Tio flinched. When she opened her eyes, she saw Ed standing in front of her with a pillow raised. He whacked her with it, making her fall off the bed. She fell on her side. Ed continued to hit her with the pillow until she rolled away from him before he could hit her again. She took a pillow from her bed and blocked Ed's pillow when he tried to hit her again. They began trying to hit each other with the pillows. Tio got pushed into the desk, which made the water bottle that was on it fall and spill. Ed stumbled back after an impact from Tio's pillow, tripping over his bag lying in the middle of the floor. Almost everything that was inside fell out. They continued to fight, obliviously messing up the room.

Megumi came back a while after the pillow fight had started. She sighed, seeing the messy room from their fighting. _I knew I shouldn't have left them alone, _she thought.

Ed stopped, his pillow raised in the air, when he saw Megumi. Tio struck him with her pillow, making him stumble back. She saw the fear in Ed's eyes and turned around, seeing Megumi standing in the doorway with the container of ice in her hands. Megumi decided to keep Ed and Tio in her sight everywhere they went to ensure that they wouldn't get into another fight.

For the next two days, Ed, Tio, Megumi, and Jason explored Brooklyn Bridge, Ellis Island, and the Statue of Liberty. Ed almost fell from the bridge while leaning over to look in the sea. Megumi caught him before he fell off. For the rest of the walk, he stayed away from the edge.

The day after walking on Brooklyn Bridge, they rode a ferry to Ellis Island. After touring the Immigration Museum, they rode the same ferry to Liberty Island, where the Statue of Liberty was located. Unfortunately, they couldn't go inside the statue and climb to the top because of fire regulation conflicts; the tour guide explained that if the statue somehow caught on fire, they, most likely, wouldn't be able to evacuate in time.

While they were in the hotel room for the two days, Ed and Tio worked on Gash's American Vulcan using a pocky box they had brought from Japan. Ed and Tio had quickly eaten all the pocky when they decided to begin to work on it. Since Ed wasn't as creative as the two girls, Tio and Megumi came up with the design. Ed gave his opinions about what the girls suggested. After drawing a rough draft of the design on blank paper, Ed and Tio set to work.

After they had stopped working on the Vulcan the first day they began, Ed decided to look over the book he, Tio, and Megumi had bought for Kiyomaro. He became engulfed in the book and wouldn't put it down for an hour.

"I thought you didn't like reading books, Ed-kun," Megumi teased when she saw how immersed he was in the book.

"Well, I changed my mind," Ed said, burying his head deeper into the book.

On the last day, when they were in an electronics store, while Ed was looking for an automail building guide for Winry, Tio, Megumi, and Jason tried to sneak away to buy Ed a present for giving them gifts. However, without looking at them, Ed said, "I don't want anything."

After a moment of silence, Megumi said, "Are you picking up girl instinct, too, Ed-kun?"

Ed shrugged. "Probably."

And, for the rest of the day, Ed refused to have them buy anything for him.

* * *

Ed, Tio, and Megumi packed for the trip back to Japan the next morning. It was an early flight, much to Ed and Tio's dismay. Ed tried to stay up all night so he wouldn't be sleepy when they had to leave the next morning, but Megumi wouldn't allow it after seeing him repeatedly fall asleep while sitting upright on his bed.

"You need to sleep, Ed-kun," she said.

"But I can go to sleep on the plane," Ed retorted.

"…You're falling asleep on your bed."

"I'm just resting my eyes."

Eventually, Ed couldn't stay awake anymore and ended up lying on his stomach on his bed, asleep. Megumi smiled and threw a blanket on him and then went to sleep.

* * *

"Tio, Ed-kun, it's time to get up."

"No, Megumi, let me sleep more…" Ed mumbled as Tio threw more sheets on herself and turned over.

Megumi sighed. She pulled Tio's sheets off of Tio. Tio shivered and then got up, walking into the bathroom. Next, Megumi pulled Ed's sheets off his bed. Ed reluctantly rolled out of bed and stumbled, rubbing his eyes.

After they had all gotten ready, they went to Jason's room. Megumi was about to knock on the door, but it was opened by Jason.

"Hi," Jason said. "I was just about to come to your room say goodbye to all of you."

"What will you do about the alchemy shop?" Ed asked.

"I'll return to Japan soon. I'm just going to stay here for a while."

"Alright. Bye, Jason."

Everyone said their goodbyes, then Ed, Tio, and Megumi went downstairs into the lobby to check out. They went back to the airport they had arrived in the week before and went through security. They boarded the plane, and, as promised, Megumi allowed Tio to sit in the window seat.

"I want to sit in the window seat again…" Ed complained to himself as they walked down the aisle to a vacant three-seater.

"What Ed-kun?" Megumi said, looking back at him. "You don't want to sit next to me?"

Ed blushed. "N-No…no… Wait…! Yes, I… No, wait…I do… …I don't care where I sit."

Megumi giggled. She sat down once they had gotten to the seat and pulled out a magazine. Ed slumped in his seat. It was another twelve-hour nonstop flight.

When they returned to Japan, Ed, Tio, and Megumi immediately unpacked at their house. Ed was done unpacking first, so he went to Al's house to give him his gift. However, he wasn't home. Ed went to Winry's house, but she wasn't there. He checked the treehouse, but it was empty. Ed went back to Megumi's house and told Tio and Megumi.

"Since they knew that we were coming back today," Megumi started, "everyone's probably at Kiyomaro-kun's house."

Ed helped Tio and Megumi finish unpacking, but avoided their clothes so he wouldn't accidently pick up one of the girls' panties or Megumi's bras. After they were finished, they went to Kiyomaro's house, and, as Megumi had said, everyone was there.

Tio gave Hana her flower, kept in a small vase.

"Thank you, Tio-chan!" Hana said. "It's beautiful!"

Ed gave Sunbeam his present. Sunbeam put the hat on. He went into the bathroom to see how it looked and then came back out.

"I can wear this on the weekends when I'm out with Umagon," he said. "Thank you!"

Megumi struggled with carrying Kiyomaro's book to him. When Kiyomaro realized this, he got up and took it from her. He almost dropped it.

"Th-Th-Thank you…" Kiyomaro said, his arms shaking. He put it on his nearby bed.

Tio gave the American Vulcan to Gash. "Ed, Megumi, and I worked on it."

"Thank you, Tio!" he said happily. "My last Vulcan…Vulcan…" He began to sob.

"Gash accidently dropped his last Vulcan on the porch on his way out to the park yesterday," Kiyomaro explained, looking up from his book. "Umagon was coming out, and he stepped on it. Gash had to bury it in the backyard, and we had a funeral for it."

Gash was happy again when he saw Umagon's gift. He took it from Megumi and slipped it on Umagon.

"Meru-meru-me!" Umagon merued, dancing a little, ecstatic.

Folgore's nose dripped blood, he stepped back, and his eyes almost rolled all the way back when he saw the photo of the woman Ed took. "T-This…this is amazing… Her... H-How did you get this?"

"I took it myself," Ed replied, both proud and ashamed of what he did.

"Exactly how many women did you see with such large breasts?"

Ed thought back to when he was walking around in New York. "…Quite a few, actually." Once again, he felt a little ashamed of observing people so much and so well.

"Good job, boy!" He turned to Kanchome, who was receiving his wristband from Tio. "Kanchome, we're going to New York soon!"

Ed left Folgore swooning over the woman in the photo and went over to Winry and Al and gave Winry her wrench and automail building guide and Al his Adidas.

"Since we're going to be leaving this place soon," Ed started, "you'll need those shoes to walk around in, Al. And, Winry, since you're gonna be an automail mechanic soon, you'll need a wrench and an aid."

For the rest of their time there, Ed, Megumi, and Tio told everyone about their experiences in New York and showed them the pictures they took. When it was over, they went back home and instantly fell asleep in their beds.

* * *

The next morning, Ed was about to go out to see a duel between Gash and Naomi when Megumi called him to the living room. The international news was on T.V.

"...sidewalk in Manhattan in New York City in America, this young man"—a picture of Jason flashed on the screen—"was seen, motionless," the reporter was saying. "The authorities took him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead."

A shaking woman came up. She spoke while the subtitled translations came up at the bottom of the screen. "It was scary to just be walking and then see a…body on the ground. I just wish that someone could've been here sooner to stop him from falling…or been able to prevent it."

Ed felt guilt wash over him. As far as he knew, Jason didn't have any family members that knew about Jason's problems. He felt like he should've taken Jason back to Japan to ensure that this wouldn't happen.

"Don't pout like it's all your fault," Tio said. "Megumi and I feel just as guilty as you do."

Ed stayed silent, looking at the ground, worrying about the friends and family Jason did have and how dismayed they were when they found out.

Ed eventually did go out. Knowing that he missed the duel, he went to Al's house and told him what happened. Al was quiet for a moment, not knowing how to react to the news. Then, he said, "It's too bad we didn't get to know him more. Maybe we could've stopped this."

Ed looked out the window. "Maybe."


	15. The Quarrel of Camping

**Chapter Fifteen: The Quarrel of Camping**

Alphonse looked out the window. It was a beautiful day outside, perfect for going out. He sat on Ed's bed and watched Ed stuff his alchemy supplies, clothes, towels, and other essentials into his duffle bag. Ed's skateboard lay upside-down next to the duffle bag.

Al was already packed for the two-day trip into the woods. He and Ed had had this planned for a month and had kept it a secret from everyone else. It was to see how prepared they were to be on their own.

"Okay, done," Ed said, zipping his bag closed and standing up. "Now to write the letter." He ran out of the room and went downstairs.

Ed was going to write a letter to Megumi, telling her where he and Al were going, not to be worried, and not to come into the woods to look for them. He would also tell her to tell anyone who was looking for him or Al about the trip and to close the alchemy shop for the weekend.

The alchemy shop had gotten a lot of attention ever since Ed and Al had taken over. It had gotten so busy that they had to accept help from their friends every once in a while. They made deliveries and did their best to keep the shop in good shape.

Al saw Ed come back in. They double-checked their belongings and then swung their bags over their shoulders. Ed picked up his skateboard and followed Al to the door.

Al opened the door. He saw Winry with her arms crossed and a firm expression on her face, blocking the way out. Al was speechless.

"Hi, Winry!" Ed said, poking his head out from behind Al. "As part of our new job at the alchemy shop, we have to deliver stuff to our customers. So that's what in our bags. And we're just going to other people's houses, so..."

The expression on Winry's face became firmer. "Stop lying. You guys are staying in the woods for two days."

Ed was speechless.

"Don't think I can't hear what you two say when I'm working on automail. I was coming up the stairs and I heard you talking about it. I won't let you go…"

"B-But we have to!" Ed exclaimed. "I mean, we'll be fine. We'll come back in one piece and everything. Promise!"

"…unless you let me come, too." She turned to the side, revealing a duffle bag and a tote bag.

There was a moment of silence.

"No, we have to do this alone, Winry," Ed said.

Winry began to walk away. "I'm telling."

"O-Okay, you can come!"

Ed went back inside to change the letter he had left for Megumi. Once he came out, he, Al, and Winry set off up the big hill a ways behind the park. Their surroundings gradually changed from a landscape with no trees into a forest.

On their way there, Ed asked, "Hey, Winry, you didn't tell Megumi or Tio, right?"

"No," Winry said.

Ed turned to Al and whispered, "We have to be quieter next time…"

"I heard that!" Winry yelled in Ed's ear. Ed heard a loud ringing noise and rubbed the inside of the ear Winry screamed into.

They soon found a clearing in the middle of trees. Ed put his duffle bag and skateboard down. Al and Winry followed suit.

"We'll set up here." Ed bent down and opened his bag. He grabbed it, turned it upside-down, and dumped everything out. He set up the tent while Al and Winry organized their things.

They finished setting up and were now out doing separate tasks: Ed was looking for fish to eat in the nearby river; Al was gathering sticks to make a fire; Winry remained at the campsite, spraying bug spray around the clearing and on their belongings.

Half an hour later, Ed and Al returned to the campsite, Ed walking triumphantly with a grocery bag filled with fish, Al's arms filled with sticks. Once Al made a fire, they roasted the fish and were about to eat when Al saw a shadow come over him. Ed and Winry gaped when they saw the figure above him.

"M-Megumi-san...?" Al looked up and saw a bear towering above him.

* * *

Megumi had come in the afternoon, but it wasn't because she had had an early day: she had been working all night because she had stayed in school for a full day, then had been immediately whisked away to work for dancing, autograph signings, recording, other things she couldn't remember, and a concert at the end. Megumi had asked her manager if she could go back home to see if Ed or Tio wanted to come before she went to the dance studio. Tio agreed, but Ed strangely declined. Tio had a look of suspicion in her eye when she told Megumi Ed's response. Megumi hoped Ed wasn't planning anything mischievous.

Megumi unlocked the door, ready to go in her room and fall asleep. She and Tio dragged into the house. Megumi placed her foot on the bottom step of the stairs but heard a crunching sound. She moved her foot and picked up a letter. She looked at the signature and saw Ed's name.

"This is from Ed-kun…" Megumi said. Tio ran beside her as she began reading:

"_Dear Megumi and Devil,"_

Megumi heard Tio growl.

"_Al and I've gone off to the woods for two days. We'll be fine, don't worry, and don't come looking for us. We're prepared, and we've had this planned for about a month. We'll come back safely, promise. _

_-Ed _

_P.S.: Make sure you close the alchemy shop._

_P.S.S.: Winry came too."_

"I'm going too!"

Megumi looked at Tio, who had made the announcement, with a bag in her hand, opening the door.

"Hold on, Tio," Megumi called.

Tio stopped going out.

"Ed-kun said he was going to be fine, but I have a bad feeling… What do you think, Tio? Should we go out and keep an eye on Ed-kun?"

"Yeah, yeah!" Tio said, nodding.

Megumi smiled. "Okay, let's get ready."

* * *

The bear had gone after the fish, and, unfortunately, made off with all of it. Ed, Al, and Winry had tried to fight the bear, but were beaten horribly: they now had scratches and bruises all over their bodies. They were hungry and tired.

"What strength…" Al said, panting. "Who knew it'd be that strong…"

"All three of us attacked at once…" Ed wheezed. "What the hell…?"

"I even used my wrench…" Winry gasped.

It became dark.

Winry stood up. "Nighttime?"

Al looked at his watch. "It's only one in the afternoon."

It began to rain heavily. The sky flashed, and the trio heard rumbling.

Ed slumped. "Seriously?"

"Come on," Winry said, crawling into the tent. "We can't just stand here and get soaked."

The rain was falling through a hole in the tent left by the bear. During the attack, when Ed, Al, and Winry went into the tent and tried to sneak off while carrying the tent, the bear, who had been eating a fish, came over and punched a hole through it, also punching Ed. Rain was now hitting Ed and Al as they and Winry tried to get comfortable in the small tent. That was next to impossible, however, as the three of them were cold, tired, and hungry.

* * *

Megumi held an umbrella over her and Tio as they climbed the hill leading to the woods. She had gotten worried now that it was storming. Ed had said he was prepared, but not how much. She was considering getting all three of them and bringing them back home. She wanted to trust Ed, but she didn't want him, Al, and Winry to get sick.

They soon came to a large clearing with a tent and a pile of sticks in the middle.

"This must be their campsite," Megumi said.

Tio nodded. "Where'll we stay?"

Megumi looked around. There were no nearby clearings, and, even if they did stay, it had to be somewhere Ed, Al, and Winry couldn't see them. They couldn't stay in a tree because of the thunderstorm at that moment.

"Maybe we should stay back home until the storm stops," Tio suggested.

Megumi, with a bad feeling that continued to swell in her stomach, agreed, and they went back home.

* * *

The clouds parted, the rain stopped, and it stopped thundering and lightning. Al poked his head out of the tent and looked around. Then, he crawled out of the tent with Ed and Winry close behind.

The storm had lasted about an hour, and the trio was famished. During that time, they were able to recover a little from their beating.

The three of them went out looking for food. An hour later, they returned, Ed, once again, bringing fish, Al with different kinds of berries, and Winry with coconuts she found near the beach.

Ed took a coconut and examined it. He rubbed his hand on it and then tried to take a bite, but smashed his teeth against it. One of his front teeth came out.

"You're not supposed to eat it like that, Ed," Al said, taking a bite of his fish. He took out a pocket knife and cut the coconut in half. He gave the two pieces to Ed, who was astonished. Ed began to drink the coconut juice. Winry, who was eating a blueberry, wondered why Al hadn't used the knife against the bear earlier.

They finished eating. They were all full and were now roasting marshmallows. Winry was about to take a bite of her marshmallow when she heard something rustle.

"Did you hear that?" she asked.

Ed and Al nodded.

"Sounded like it came from over there." Ed pointed to his right.

Al tiptoed in the direction Ed pointed in. He searched in the bushes with his hands. He felt something furry and soft. He pulled out a skunk by its tail. Before he could throw it into the woods, the skunk sprayed in his face. Al, stunned, stood there until it finished. Before it could do it again, he threw it back into the woods and returned to the campsite. Ed and Winry held their noses as he came closer.

"Winry, did you bring soap?" Al asked.

* * *

Tio let out a sigh of relief. It was a good thing Al hadn't discovered her at the top of the tree. She was hidden by leaves and had a small hole opened up so that she could spy on them. Megumi was in the tree across from her. The tree she was sitting in was of equal height of the one Tio was in.

Tio had seen everything that Ed, Al, and Winry had done. She felt bad for Al, who was trying to wash the smell off his face. She wished she could help them—Al, anyway.

Once Al had washed everything off his face, he joined Ed and Winry in roasting marshmallows. Winry pulled out a pack of graham crackers.

_That must be to make s'mores, _Tio thought.

Tio's assumption was correct; after they finished roasting the marshmallows, they smacked them between two crackers.

That reminded Tio that she was hungry. She looked next to her. On a surprisingly sturdy branch was her duffle bag, which held clothes, food (including candy from Kanchome), and water. She pulled out a boxed lunch and began to eat.

* * *

Ed sat under a tree with his eyes closed, his bag near him. He was sitting on a yoga mat he had brought and was going to relax for a while. It was sunny again, and it felt cool and comfortable under the tree.

He felt something hit his head. He put his hand in his hair and searched for the object that was in it. He grabbed it and looked at it. It was a somewhat large crumb.

Thinking it was a monkey, he got Winry's permission to use her wrench and threw it up the tree.

"Ow!" someone in the tree screamed. It was a girls' voice that Ed thought sounded familiar.

The wrench fell back down. Ed caught it and threw it back up. He heard another yelp.

He ran over to Al, who was studying the alchemy book, and Winry, who was drawing a picture of an automail arm. He told them about the noises he had heard from the tree. He led them to the tree and picked up the wrench that had fallen back down. He threw it up again and heard another scream. This time, the wrench didn't come back down.

"Someone's spying on us," Winry said.

Ed got a little mad. "Well, there'th only one way to find out who it ith." He put his arms around the tree and began to climb. He saw something small and pink sitting on the top branch.

"T-Tio…?" he said, surprised.

"Ed…" Tio sounded just as surprised. "_You _were the one who kept throwing the wrench at me?!"

"_You _were spying on uth?!"

They stared at each other with angry looks until Winry called for them. They came down.

"I couldn't see directly below the tree," Tio explained, "but I could tell that _someone _was doing something." She turned to Ed and scowled.

"You shouldn't have been spying on uth!" Ed screamed. "We were fine! Jufth fine!"

"Wait…" Tio walked closer to Ed, put her hands in his mouth, and opened it. She examined his mouth for a moment and then said, "Where's your front tooth?"

"I ate a coconut wrong."

Tio laughed. "_That's _why you're talking weird?"

Ed grabbed a coconut from his bag and lifted it over Tio's head.

"Megumi-san must be around here somewhere…" Winry interrupted. "Am I right, Tio?"

Tio nodded. "Yeah." She led them to another tree directly across. "Megumi!"

Megumi soon came into sight, climbing carefully down the tree. She looked a little guilty.

Ed was frustrated at how she couldn't trust him. No matter what he did, Megumi always worried. He couldn't blame her, but he wanted to do something unsupervised at least once. He didn't want her to worry at least once. He wanted the freedom to do whatever he wanted without Megumi worried. Even after he had gone on top of a building, Megumi hadn't stopped worrying about him.

"Why?" he yelled. Everyone looked at him. "Why the hell can't you trwuf uth?! You never let me do anything on my own! I don't…" He trailed off and then ran off deep into the forest.

* * *

"Ed-kun…" Megumi had the worst feeling in her stomach she had had that day. She wanted to go talk to Ed, so she tried to run after him, but Al, Winry, and Tio blocked her way.

"Hey, you can go talk to him later," Tio said. She was a little angry at Ed for getting angry about something so little, but she understood; she knew that she would get mad about something like this, too.

"Yeah," Al said. "He needs to be alone right now."

They all sat under a tree, waiting for Ed to return. He didn't for a while. Megumi stood up, wanting to find Ed and talk to him. Al, Winry, and Tio let her. She ran in the direction Ed went into.

On the way there, she heard Ed's screams. She became more worried and ran faster.

She arrived at a clearing. Ed was scrambling up a tree, trying to get away from a bear that was after the fish in his hand. Ed almost made it to a branch multiple times, but the bear repeatedly slammed into the tree, making Ed slide back down.

"M-Megumi, help!" Ed shouted while sliding back down. He quickly scrambled back up when he saw the bear prepare to slam into the tree again. He barely made it up before the bear threw itself into the tree.

Megumi knew she couldn't handle the bear on her own, so she sprinted back to the campsite to get Tio. She quickly brought Tio back to the area where Ed was getting attacked, and the scene was the same.

"Okay, Tio," Megumi said, pulling out her spellbook from her bag. It began to glow as she poured her heart into it. "Ready?"

"Yeah!" Tio thrust her hands in the direction of the bear.

"Saisu!"

The pink boomerang-shaped light left Tio's hands and hit the bear. It roared. Megumi and Tio covered their ears. While it was roaring, Megumi made Tio cast another Saisu at it. The bear was silenced when the boomerang hit it, and it stumbled backwards. It was scratched and bruised in a couple places and looked as though it was close to falling unconscious. Megumi cast one more Saisu. This time, Tio intentionally made the boomerang hit close to the bear. The bear jumped and then ran off.

Ed slid down the tree. He landed, stumbling and rubbing the insides of both his ears, hearing the loud ringing noise once again.

Once Tio left to gather food, Ed and Megumi sat under a tree. They sat quietly for while, then Megumi broke the silence.

"I'm sorry, Ed-kun."

Ed continued to stare at the ground.

"I knew I should've trusted you, but…I had this bad feeling, like something bad was going to happen. I just couldn't leave you and Al and Winry alone."

Ed sat up and looked straight ahead. Then, he looked at Megumi. "I know. In the back of my mind, I knew you were gonna come anyway." He half-smiled.

"So, Ed-kun, you wanted me to come?"

Ed's face turned scarlet. "N-No…! It wathn't that… I wathn't trying to… I mean… You know…" Ed breathed deeply for a minute, his face returning to its original color, then he continued, "'Cauth…I knew you were gonna worry, but…I wath trying not to worry you to death."

"Okay, Ed-kun, next time, I'll let you go on your own. But for now, how about we camp together? Tio and I already packed."

Ed stood up. "Sure."

Megumi stood up as well. They went back to the campsite.

* * *

Tio sat near the campfire along with Al and Winry. She wondered if everything was okay between them. Before she had a chance to go over what could happen, Megumi and Ed came into view.

Winry stood up and walked towards them. "So, everything's sorted out now?"

"Yep," Ed replied.

Al went over to them, followed by Tio. "What're you gonna do?"

"Well," Megumi started while Ed crossed his arms, "Ed-kun's approved of Tio and I staying, too."

"I realized it didn't matter," Ed said. "Winry wath with us, anyway."

Megumi looked at Ed. "Ed-kun, could you smile, please?"

Ed smiled, a little embarrassed.

"Your tooth… What happened to your tooth?"

Before Ed could answer, Winry said, "He'th talking like dat becauth he ate a coconut wong and lost his fwont toof."

"Don't mock me!" Ed yelled in Winry's face.

For the rest of the weekend, they found food, cleaned up every night before bedtime, and told stories over the campfire. Ed soon found himself in the treehouse, sunk deep into a beanbag chair. He sighed. He wanted to be alone with Al for the weekend to see how prepared they were to go out on their own, but he had had fun nevertheless. He didn't know how prepared they were because of the interruption, however, which he was a little angry about. It was okay; Ed wanted to stay a little longer with Megumi and all the friends he had made in Mochinoki.

He left the treehouse and climbed the rope ladder down the tree. He went inside the house, where Megumi was sitting on the couch, reading a magazine.

"Oh, Ed-kun," Megumi said, looking up. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you this before, but you have a doctor's appointment along with Al-kun and Winry. It's for your injuries that you got from the bear."

"Today?"

"Today." She paused. "Plus, you have a dental appointment tomorrow. They're considering giving you an implant."

Ed was okay with both appointments. He accompanied Megumi to the doctor's along with Tio, Al, and Winry. They sat in the waiting room, staring at the door, waiting for the door to open and for a nurse to call their names.

"An implant, huh…?" Winry said once Megumi told them about Ed's dental appointment. "He might not need that, Megumi."

"Yeah," Tio said. "Ed's growing pretty slow, so it might grow back on its own."

Ed gave both girls a look.

They were taken into the office together after what seemed an eternity. Once the nurse had checked them out, she left. A few minutes later, the doctor, a middle-aged, bald man, entered the small room.

"Okay, so, here I have Ed, Al, and Winry," the doctor said, pointing to each person with a pen as he called each of their names out. "Okay." He looked at his records. "Hmm… Okay, so…okay. I have updated physicals for Al and Winry, but I have no records of Ed. So I have to give him a physical, okay?"

"A phythical?" Ed spat, turning to Megumi. Megumi flinched as he spat on her. "I thought thith wath jufth for bandages and thuff for our injuries."

"Well, yeah, that too," the doctor said. "But first we need to give you a physical, okay?"

Ed climbed onto the bed. The doctor took his blood pressure, his weight, and checked his ears and eyesight.

"Okay, so, Ed, do you remember going to any other doctors, ever?" the doctor asked when he finished checking his eyesight.

It was so long since Ed had gone to a doctor. Ed didn't even know if he had ever been to a doctor in his life. "I don't think so…"

"Okay, then, I need to give you some shots too, then, okay?"

The doctor gave Ed a few shots. They stung, but Ed didn't cringe during any of the shots. Afterwards, the doctor tended to Ed, Al, and Winry's injuries.

"Okay, so, we're all done," the doctor said, getting up and going to the door.

Ed hopped off the bed and stretched. Al and Winry hopped off while Megumi and Tio stood up.

The doctor suddenly stopped opening the door. "Oops, I forgot something." He turned to face Ed, who was behind him. "I forgot to take your height. So, I need to take that, okay?"

"H-Height…?" Ed took a step back.

"Yes, height. I need to take that, okay?"

Ed took another step back. "What do you need my height for?"

"It's part of the physical. And I need it on record, okay?" The doctor went over to something that looked like a scale. "Step on this, please. And take your shoes off, please."

Ed bolted towards the door. In a flash, Megumi had her arms around his. Ed was flailing as she dragged him to the scale. Al watched silently while Tio and Winry laughed. The doctor watched in awe.

"No!" Ed screamed. "I don't want my height…you don't need my height… What do you need it on record for?!"

He felt himself being lifted up. He flailed his legs more.

"No, Megumi! Don't make me, Megumi… No, no, no…!"

He felt his legs get caught and his shoes leave his feet.

"No! No! I don't need my height taken! It doesn't need to be on record! It doesn't…"

Ed felt his feet hit the scale. He tried to run away but ran into Megumi.

"Megumi, no!" His voice was muffled. "Don't make him take my height! Please…!"

Ed felt arms being wrapped around him. He was pushed more into Megumi. Ed's screams came out as "Mmms". Then, he was released from Megumi, but her arms remained around him. She bent down and put her lips on his cheek. His cheeks became hot. He leaned forward and fell against something soft. Everything went black.

* * *

Ed opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the ceiling. He sat up and looked around. He soon realized that he was on his bed in his room. He also realized that he had, once again, fainted when Megumi kissed him. He was unconscious this time longer than he was before. What bothered him more than that, however, was his height. He wondered how tall he was but didn't want to know. He wondered if everyone that was in the room knew how tall he was. He also wondered if the doctor had ever taken his height—he had put up quite a fight. He didn't want his height taken in front of all his friends, let alone a stranger.

Ed's thoughts were interrupted when Tio burst into the room. "You had to have your height taken! And you're only five foot, which isn't much of a surprise."

"Y-You devil!" Ed tackled Tio, and they rolled on the ground, punching and kicking each other. Ed pinned Tio on the ground and spanked her. Tio caught his arm when it was coming down again and flipped him onto his back. She grabbed his neck and tightened her grip until Ed couldn't breathe.

Megumi came into the room. As soon as she did, Tio let go of Ed. Ed collapsed and breathed heavily.

* * *

Ed sat on his bed and looked out the window at Gash and Kiyomaro walking down the street. He didn't feel like accompanying them, however: he was disappointed about his height. He didn't feel like being around anyone. He was supposed to stay away from Tio unless Megumi was with them, which didn't bother him at all.

Megumi opened the door and came into the room once again. After closing the door behind her, she sat on the bed next to him.

"I just talked to Tio," Megumi began, "and she said she's sorry."

Ed groaned and looked away. "My height…she came in screaming about that…" He was surprised he had brought that up so quickly.

"Ed-kun, you're not that short. You grew a little."

Ed smiled a little, but it quickly turned back into a frown.

"Al-kun's just as tall as you."

"But Winry's just as tall as the both of us."

"Don't worry, Ed-kun. You'll grow soon." Megumi pulled Ed into her. Ed almost didn't return her hug, still angry about the height. Then, he thought that Megumi might feel bad about not being able to comfort him, and he returned the hug. After a long embrace, Megumi gave Ed a smile and then left his room.

Ed hated being teased about his height all the time. He was going to do something about it, and he knew just what to do.


	16. The Quarrel of Vegetables

**Chapter Sixteen: The Quarrel of Vegetables**

Ed searched the nearly empty refrigerator, looking for any vegetables he could find. On the counter behind him was a pile of vegetables. He would get taller if it was the last thing he did.

Once he had scraped the refrigerator clean of vegetables, he proceeded to eat all the vegetables he had found. He ate them quickly, as he didn't want Megumi or Tio to find out, even though, in the back of his mind, he knew they would soon. In order for them not to find out, Ed needed someone as a kitchen raider. He could have the raider pretend to go all over the neighborhood and eat everyone's veggies while it would be Ed eating everyone's vegetables in the neighborhood, but who would get in trouble just for him? Umagon was the first that came to mind, but Ed knew he wouldn't do it.

On the other hand, Ed didn't want to use others to accomplish his goal. On top of that, why was he so reluctant to let others know? He pondered this for a long time. Tio and Winry would, no doubt, make fun of him; Megumi would try to comfort him; Al would let him do it. He came to a conclusion: he was embarrassed about his height. He cringed just thinking about it, as he was doing now. Then again, he shouldn't care what others thought about him. But he did.

He stopped eating for a second and looked at the remaining vegetables. Even though he had already eaten a lot, there was still a fair amount left.

_Well, better get to it. _Ed began eating again.

* * *

Winry walked down the sidewalk alone. In the corner of her eye, she caught a pile of ants on a fallen lollipop, but she didn't feel like stepping on them. She saw a butterfly fly past her, but she didn't feel like chasing it. She saw an earthworm moving what she thought was its head around, but she didn't feel like watching it. She had done all these things too many times. She wanted to do something new. Then, it came to her.

She was bored.

She observed the nice, summer day once again. It wasn't too hot, and it wasn't too cool; the weather was perfect. Across the street, kids, including Gash, played tag with Naomi. Naomi was "it" and was chasing the kids around the jungle gym in her car, Kiyomaro watching in the background. Playing with Gash was something she didn't do every day, but she continued walking anyway. Winry walked around a few kids who were watching a bee fly around a bush. She looked back and saw a boy kick the bush, kicking the bee in the process. The kids screamed and ran in a straight line, one behind the other, across the street while the bee flew around them repeatedly.

While Winry watched and laughed at the kids, she tripped over something and stumbled, almost falling. She looked at what she had tripped over. It was an unconscious black and white dog with one of its arms missing and a growing pool of blood leaking from the hole left from the arm.

"Aw…" Winry covered her mouth, disgusted. She wondered how anyone could miss a dog without an arm on the street and what caused this to happen. She picked the dog up, heaved it onto her back, and began walking home. This dog needed an immediate surgery.

* * *

"Granny!" Winry yelled when she got home. She panted for a few seconds before continuing. "Granny Pinako, help! This dog…it's missing an arm!"

Her guardian, Pinako, came down the stairs. "What?"

Pinako, conveniently, was an expert automail mechanic and, after overhearing Winry considering going with Ed and Al to find an automail mechanic so she could learn how to make automail, Pinako jumped in and offered to teach Winry. Winry had been learning for a while now, but not enough time to learn how to perform surgery on animals. This would be a perfect opportunity to learn.

"Hm," Pinako said, once hearing Winry's story. "Well, let's get to it."

"Alright!" Winry followed Pinako into another room for the surgery.

* * *

Pinako wiped her head with a handkerchief and then put the hanky in her pocket. "Finished."

The dog's arm was replaced with an automail dog arm. The dog was still unconscious.

Winry was amazed at how Pinako had done it. She was also amazed at how long it had taken. Even for a professional like Pinako, the surgery had taken almost three hours. It didn't matter, though, as Winry was interested the whole time.

"Let's leave him be for a while," Pinako said.

Winry nodded, and they left the room.

* * *

Ed lay on the couch in the living room with the T.V. turned off. He was so full he didn't think he could eat dinner that evening. He had eaten all his vegetables and was proud of himself for doing so, but now he needed to think of an excuse for Megumi just in case he couldn't eat dinner that evening.

"Ed-kun?"

Too late.

"What's wrong?" Megumi asked, sitting down next to him. "Are you sick?"

Ed decided to tell the truth. He didn't feel like getting himself into another mess. "I'm fine, just really full." He paused, reconsidering his decision to tell the truth. _She's going to find out soon, anyway. _"I ate a lot of vegetables. Actually, I ate so many that we don't have any more."

There was a moment of silence.

"You really want to get taller, don't you, Ed-kun?"

Ed was quiet.

Megumi smiled. "Well, do whatever you need to do to get taller. I'll help in any way I can."

Ed was surprised. Usually, Megumi would try to comfort him or talk him out of it. He nodded. "Okay."

"Ed-kun, you need to drink milk, too. That'll help you get bigger and stronger."

Ed made a disgusted face at the mention of milk. He had hated milk for as long as he could remember, refusing to drink it when he was with his parents.

"What's wrong?" Megumi asked.

"Milk's nasty," Ed replied. "I mean, it's stuff that comes out of a cow."

"Oh, it's not that bad. Try it. If you really want to get taller quickly, milk should help you."

Ed stuck out his tongue in disgust.

* * *

Winry and Pinako stood over the dog. Pinako said that it would wake up soon, and it was beginning to.

"Hey, hey, he's waking up," Winry said as the dog slowly opened its eyes. It opened its eyes completely and then closed them again. After a moment, it opened its eyes so quick that Winry almost jumped. It started to whimper.

"He's feeling the pain from the surgery," Pinako said. "He just needs to lie down for a while, then he'll be fine."

The dog got off the bed and barked, wagging its tail.

"Oh, never mind."

Winry bent down and hugged the dog. The dog licked her.

"Ah, I'll leave you two alone," Pinako said, leaving the room.

While they were hugging and kissing each other, Winry thought about how great it was that she wouldn't be bored anymore. She wanted to tell Ed and Al about her new dog and the great name she had for it.

_I love you, Den, _Winry thought.

* * *

A bloated Ed walked alongside Al. He was still full from that morning's round of vegetables. Megumi had tried to get him to drink milk, but he had refused to, even if it would help him get taller.

"Maybe you're not as dedicated as you thought," Al said when Ed told him about the situation.

"I'm dedicated," Ed said. "I just won't drink milk. Besides, you drink milk, and you aren't any taller than me."

After Al knocked on the front door of Winry's house, he and Ed went in without waiting for it to be answered, as they always did. Ed heard some noises he couldn't recognize, so he looked to his right. In the surgery room was Winry and a black and white dog hugging and kissing each other.

"Hi, Ed, Al," Winry said, looking up briefly and then returning to kissing the dog.

"Should we come back later?" Al asked.

"No, it's not like I'm making out with my boyfriend or anything."

Ed and Al entered the room. As soon as they did, the dog ran over to Al and barked, then tackled Ed and began to lick him.

"His name is Den," Winry said.

Ed felt more pressure on his right side than his left. He looked at his right side and saw that Den had an automail arm.

"What happened to his arm?" Ed asked when he had the chance. Right after he asked, the dog returned to licking him.

"I don't know," Winry said. "When I found him, he had no arm. Granny Pinako just finished surgery on it."

Later that evening, Ed, Al, and Winry sat at the dining room table while Den crawled under the table to sniff their feet. Ed hadn't told Winry about his plan to get taller and wasn't going to. Even though he was still full, he forced himself to eat more vegetables.

When Al saw Ed carrying a plate full of vegetables over to the table, he said, "But Ed, you're still--"

"—hungry because I didn't eat any breakfast this morning," Ed finished. He knew Winry was suspicious now.

Ed ate as many vegetables as he could while Al and Winry ate other foods. He didn't pay any attention to them, as he was focusing on eating as much as he could without vomiting. Then, he dropped a pea on the ground. He cursed; that was one more veggie that couldn't help him get taller.

Den, who had just come out from under the table, gobbled up the pea. He looked at Ed expectantly.

"No, these are mine," Ed said, pushing his plate away from the dog.

Once Ed couldn't eat anymore, he leaned back in his chair. He wasn't able to eat all his vegetables. Den whined. Ed put his half-full plate on the ground next to Den, and Den began to gobble the veggies up. Once he was done, he barked, wanting more.

* * *

Megumi, Ed, and Tio sat on the couch watching T.V. the next evening. Ed had eaten vegetables all day. He had also drunk a glass of milk just so Megumi wouldn't pester him about it anymore.

The program they were watching was cut off by a news report. The reporter, who was in front of a house near the beach, said that someone had stolen vegetables from everyone's refrigerators last night. There was no evidence left behind and, even though this had happened only one night, police were already on the case.

"Now, police are saying that this could be the boy who used to go to Pat's Bakery all the time and steal," the reporter continued. "He may be targeting Mochinoki residents' houses this time." She turned to a detective that was next to her, introduced him, and held the microphone up to him.

"Me and other detectives are looking into it right now," the detective said. "We do think it's the boy who kept stealing from Pat's Bakery, as when that kept happening, he didn't leave any evidence behind, just like now. He may have come out from a long hibernation and begun to steal again. However, we've never seen this boy, so it would be a lot of help if someone could provide us of a description of what he looks like."

Once the reporter was sure the detective was done speaking, she held the microphone back up to herself. "If you know or have seen this person stealing vegetables, the police urge you to call them at once." Then, they returned to the program Megumi, Ed, and Tio were watching.

"Well, they suspect me," Ed said. "As usual."

Tio turned to Ed. "Ed…"

Ed looked at Tio. "It's not me this time, I swear. Really, the only place I've been emptying vegetables out of is this place."

"Right…"

"It's not me, Tio!"

Later that day, when Megumi, Ed, and Tio went to Kiyomaro's house, Kiyomaro told them that their house had been emptied of vegetables, too.

"I don't know how he could have hit that many houses in one night," Kiyomaro went on. "It just seems impossible. Or…Ed…"

"It's not me!" Ed screamed.

"Well, if even my mother didn't hear the person stealing, he must be pretty stealthy."

"Didn't you use to be like that, Ed?" Gash asked.

"It's not me!" Ed yelled.

"It really isn't Ed-kun," Megumi said. "He's not that stealthy. After all, I've caught him on a few occasions trying to get out of the house without asking."

"Okay, it's not Ed," Kiyomaro said.

Ed put his hand on his forehead, frustrated at how no one believed him. It had been a long time since he had stolen or done anything wrong, yet people still didn't trust him. He still had his instincts from when he was homeless, but he didn't use them for evil anymore.

Then, he remembered Winry's dog, Den. Den had loved the vegetables Ed had given him. He wanted more, even after eating a whole lot.

"Ed-kun?" Megumi said, seeing that Ed had realized something.

"It's…it's…I know!" Ed gave them a summary of what happened yesterday at Winry's house.

Everyone was speechless after the story. It was unbelievable, but everyone believed him anyway on account of Megumi.

"We have to go tell Winry," Kiyomaro said, starting to go to the door, "and then tell the police."

"But, Winry…" Ed was reluctant to tell Winry. He imagined the disappointed look on Winry's face when they told him that her dog was going around the neighborhood eating everyone's vegetables and the fact that she might have to give it up. She had just found that dog and loved it more than anything else in the world. After debating with himself for a moment, he said, "It's me. I did it."

Kiyomaro stopped.

"See, when I woke up this morning, I saw a bunch of vegetables lying next to me. Then, I saw the news report on T.V. I must have been sleepwalking. Sorry." He didn't want to go into the reasons, but he did anyway. "It's because I want to become taller by eating a lot of vegetables. My obsession must've carried on into my sleep."

Ed was glad that his explanation was finished but remained tense, as he didn't know if his cover-up had been successful.

"No, it's not you, Ed-kun," Megumi said, shaking her head. "I would've known."

It wasn't.

"Trying to cover up for Winry?" Kiyomaro said.

Ed nodded. "Let me cover up for her anyway. I don't want to see her…" His voice trailed off.

"Sad?" Megumi finished.

Ed nodded.

"I'm sure we can work something out," Kiyomaro said. "The police might be lenient on us since we'll tell them only after one day. They might let Winry keep Den."

Kiyomaro continued out the door, everyone else following him to Winry's house. Winry was outside with Den playing fetch.

"Hi!" Winry said after she threw the stick across the yard for the umpteenth time. Den ran after it.

Kiyomaro told her about Den eating everyone's vegetables the night before. Ed watched Winry's cheerful face gradually turn into disappointment as Kiyomaro explained everything—that they would have to turn Den in and that she might have to give Den up.

Winry stared at Kiyomaro, horrified. Den stopped when he was halfway back to Winry, the stick in his mouth, also staring at Kiyomaro. His tail had stopped wagging.

Ed stepped forward. "If the police try to make you turn Den in, I'll tell them it was me, okay? There's more than enough evidence that it was me."

"Ed-kun…" Megumi was surprised at Ed's urging for them to let him cover up for Den. She didn't want anything to happen to Ed, however. That was the whole point of why she had took him in—to prevent him from being sent to jail. She wasn't going to let that ever happen. If the police did say that they had to take Den away, and if Ed was about to cover up for Den, Megumi would cover his mouth and prevent him from saying anything. She did care for Den and would also try to keep the police from taking the dog away, as would Tio, Kiyomaro, and Gash, so there was no need for Ed to turn himself in.

"No, Ed, it's fine," Winry said. "If the police take Den away, that's fine. It is what it is. Besides, there's evidence against Den, too. He didn't want breakfast this morning, and his stomach was big. All he did the whole morning was lay down. Granny Pinako suggested that we take him to a vet, but I said no. That's why I took Den out—for exercise. I knew he wasn't sick, but I knew there was something wrong, too."

Ed didn't care. He would stop the police from taking Den away at all costs.

Kiyomaro went inside to call the police. Soon after he did, the police arrived, including the detective that had been on T.V. After Kiyomaro explained what had happened, the police turned to Winry. They were about to question her when Winry apologized, saying that it was her fault for not keeping more of an eye on Den and explaining everything that had happened that morning.

"Alright," the detective said. He left along with the police to come to a decision of what to do.

It was the longest wait anyone could stand. Winry and Den remained where they were, watching the detective and the police converse; Ed looked down, rubbing his shoes together; Megumi looked straight ahead; Tio couldn't help but tap her foot; Gash stared at the men with an open mouth; Kiyomaro was the coolest of them all, looking at the detective and police with almost no emotion. They all watched the detective and polices' expressions closely.

The detective and police nodded and then went over to the group.

"Here's what we'll do," the detective began.

Megumi readied herself. If the police said they were going to take Den away, and if Ed tried to cover up, she would jump in and stop Ed from saying anything.

Everyone's jaw dropped when the detective said, "We'll let you keep him. You turned him in after one day. Just make sure you keep that dog on a tighter leash, if you know what I mean, or else we may have to take him away."

And with that, the detective and policemen got in their cars and left.

Den ran over to Winry, returned the stick to her, and tackled her, licking her repeatedly.

"Thanks, guys," Winry said, pushing Den off her for a brief moment. Then, she let Den continue to lick her. Ed assumed that she'd properly thank everyone later, but was glad to see Winry happy.

Everyone except Megumi and Ed went home. They waited until Winry and Den were done kissing each other.

"Thank you guys so much," Winry said. "I'm so glad that they didn't have to take Den away. I won't let it happen ever again, promise."

"Thanks, Winry," Ed said.

"For what?"

"You and Den taught us something important today," Megumi said. "Let's enjoy each other as much as we can. We never know when something could happen to any one of us."

Winry nodded. "Yeah!"

Den barked in agreement.

Megumi and Edward went on their way home, glad that that problem had been resolved and there was a somewhat happy ending: Ed was still angry about his height, as he had told almost everyone about what he was doing. Winry had probably figured it out by now, too, but had refrained from saying anything because she was thankful for Ed.

Megumi, Edward, and Tio were now going to value each other even more. The Demon Battle was coming to a close, and there was no telling when Tio could be sent back. The fact that any one of them could be lost at any second made them enjoy each other's company more, and they would do that until they separated.


	17. The Quarrel of Memories

**Chapter Seventeen: The Quarrel of Memories**

Ed looked out the window. The scenery had been the same as it had been over the past four years he had been with Megumi. He wouldn't see the same scenery much, though, once tomorrow came.

Tomorrow, Ed was going to leave with Al to go on a journey and learn more about alchemy. They had improved a lot since they had gotten engulfed in it: they didn't need the alchemy books most of the time, as they had memorized most of the formulas and had even made their own.

Winry had improved on automail as well. Thanks to Pinako, she could now make different body parts and perform surgery almost flawlessly.

The demon battle was over with Gash being the victor. Ed wondered how someone as innocent and almost passive as Gash could win. Ed would've been worried, but with Tio with him, he would be listened to.

Ed drew a picture in his mind as how Gash's kingdom was currently run: Gash stamping a document proclaiming "No more battles!", showing that he made most of the decisions; Tio strangling another demon, showing that she was his bodyguard; Kanchome reaching into his bottomless pockets, surrounded by limitless amounts of items, representing him being Gash's treasurer; and Gash riding on Umagon's back and another image of Umagon running with a mailbag on his back, symbolizing Umagon being Gash's carrier.

Ever since the demon battle had ended, Kiyomaro had become a little calmer. He had gotten used to Ed unexpectedly bursting into his room and didn't get too angry about it. Ed and Kiyomaro had gotten closer over the past couple of years, sharing their interest in books and reading together. One day, while Ed was walking alone around town, he caught sight of Kiyomaro with friends from the school he went to. Kiyomaro introduced all of them. Ed got to know them more based on their actions: Mizuno, a girl who loved to cut fruit and name them; Iwashima, a boy who was obsessed with aliens; Yamanaka, who liked sports; and Kane, who hunted tsuchinoko.

Ed frequently went to the park with Al and Winry. Naomi, seeing Al as a substitute for Gash due to his passiveness and physical features, now chased him around the park. The first time Al got unexpectedly chased, Winry, who had just finished eating a banana, threw the banana peel on the ground in front of Naomi's car, causing Naomi to spin out and hit a power line's pole. Ever since then, Ed and Winry brought things that could sabotage Naomi, including bubble gum, knives to slash the tires, and spike strips. Since she was so focused on running Al over, Naomi never noticed what caused her accidents every time, so she never upgraded her car to become oblivious to the vandalism, and she was always seen in a car that looked like it had not been damaged at all from the previous duel.

Megumi's schedule hadn't changed much over the past four years. As a result, Ed was leaving more and more and returning later and later, sometimes coming in just minutes before Megumi. Ed did his best to come home before Megumi, as he didn't want to make her worried and, at times, found himself sprinting back to beat her home. Most of the time, he was coming from across town while accompanying Al and Winry on walks. Other times, he walked with Kiyomaro.

Ed finished reminiscing and took a look at his room. It looked exactly as it had the first time he saw it. Throughout the time he had been there, he didn't mess it up much except for when he was figuring out different alchemy formulas. Only then did the room become cluttered.

He decided to take a quick look in Megumi's room. Her room hadn't changed, either. On the nightstand, however, lay Tio's Volunun. Tio wasn't able to take it with her to the Demon World.

Tio and Megumi only had to leave twice for big battles with Kiyomaro and Gash, Folgore and Kanchome, and Sunbeam and Umagon. Ed had only gotten the general concepts: the first time was for a giant tower that was supposed to be inhabited by evil demons, and the second time was for an "ultimate" demon.

Ed remembered that the day after he left, Megumi and Kiyomaro would be going to college. He realized what a burden he had placed on Megumi: not only would she be worrying about school, but she would also be worrying about him and Al.

Ed found himself in the bathroom. He checked his hair: it was a little out of place. He began to straighten it with his hands. As he did this, he remembered when his hair used to be short. He had grown it out a lot since then, and it now reached a little past his shoulders. He finished straightening it. He braided it and then made sure the string of hair on the top was sticking out correctly. Once his hair was perfect, he proceeded downstairs.

Ed saw Megumi sitting on the couch reading a magazine in the living room. The T.V. wasn't on. When she saw him, she smiled and put down the magazine. Ed smiled and sat down next to her.

* * *

Megumi sat on the couch in silence. She was looking at a magazine, but not reading it. Instead, she was thinking about the many events that had happened over the past four years.

The first thing that came to her mind was the demon battle. She was disappointed that Tio hadn't won but was happy for Gash. With Tio, Umagon, and Kanchome backing him up, combined with his firmness and determination, he would make a great king.

The next thing that entered her mind was the trio of Ed, Al, and Winry. Most of the time they were together, there was something amusing going on, like the time Al was being chased by Naomi. Naomi's car flipped, Naomi flew a few yards, and then landed on her head, ending the duel.

Then, Kiyomaro popped into her mind. She and Kiyomaro met in the strangest ways: Kiyomaro was looking for a missing Gash and Umagon on request of his mother. He was angry about it, but meeting Megumi had made the hunt a little better. Another time, Kiyomaro had somehow gotten himself alone with Kane and had to help Kane find tsuchinoko. It wasn't of his free will, and he couldn't get himself away from Kane. Megumi was doing a photo shoot near the forest, and Kiyomaro had gotten himself seen by her while trying to find a lizard and a leaf to pose as tsuchinoko. Kiyomaro, embarrassed in the bug-catching gear given to him by Kane, greeted her quickly and then ran off.

Megumi, having nothing else to think about, turned her attention to the magazine. But, before she had a chance to get into it, she heard Ed stomping down the stairs. She looked at the hallway and saw Ed standing in the middle of it. She smiled and laid the magazine next to her. Ed smiled back and sat down next to her.

For a moment, they sat in silence. Then, Ed broke the silence by saying, "Remember the time Winry kinda beat me up when I dented one of her automail arms?"

Megumi was a little taken aback by Ed's mention of that embarrassing incident. He normally wouldn't do that without blowing up. She nodded and said, "Yeah."

All of a sudden, there was knocking at the door. Megumi was about to get up and answer it, but Ed held up his hand and said, "It's Al and Winry. I knew they were going to be here soon." He left to answer the door, and a moment later, Al and Winry had joined Ed and Megumi in their recollection of events, both sitting on a couch near the one Ed and Megumi were sitting on.

Al and Winry had grown up a lot over the past four years. Al, like Ed, had grown out his hair and now kept it in a ponytail. Winry had kept her hair the same, save for it also being longer. Al had gotten taller, but so had Winry, making Ed, Al, and Winry the same height.

"Oh, the automail incident…" Al said after hearing from Ed what they were talking about. He looked at Winry, who had also remembered it and didn't look too happy.

* * *

_Winry finally completed her first piece of automail. It had taken her weeks of failure and guides to get it correct. She stood in front of her work desk, admiring her work._

"_Good job, Winry," Ed said. Al nodded in agreement. They had been sitting behind her for a couple of hours, watching her construct the automail._

_Winry twisted it around in different ways, making sure it was flexible. Then, she walked over to where Ed and Al were sitting. She gave the automail arm to Al._

"_Here, you both check it out," Winry said, "and tell me what you think of it when I get back. Then I'm gonna tell Granny Pinako and she's gonna tell me that I did a great job, and…" She left Ed and Al alone in her room while almost skipping down the stairs, talking to herself about what a great job she had done._

_Al tapped it and then twisted it like Winry did. It was a little stiff, but still flexible enough for an arm. "She should give this to someone who doesn't have an arm," he said, handing the arm to Ed. "Then, it could be tested properly."_

"_Yeah," Ed replied. "I wanna test how strong it is, but I don't want to dent it, especially since it's Winry's first." He hopped off Winry's bed. "C'mon, let's go find Granny Pinako and get her opinion. She's the master, after all."_

_Al followed him towards the doorway. While Ed was walking through the doorway, the automail hit the side of the doorway and slid along it, making screeching noises as it did so. Ed cringed and then slowly opened his eyes and saw the place where it was hit._

"_It's dented," he said._

_Al took a look at the automail. There was a large dent from the hand to the elbow._

"_Winry's gonna kill me, Al," Ed said, giving Al a guilty look._

"_What? What about Winry killing you?"_

_Ed looked at where the voice came from. Winry was back with a wrench in her right hand. Since she was going to find out eventually, Ed showed Winry the automail._

* * *

Megumi looked at Winry. She had her hands balled into fists and still seemed angry about it. Then, she looked at Ed, who seemed embarrassed as he scratched his head in the exact spot where Winry had hit him with her wrench that day. Ed would never forget the pain he went through after making that simple mistake.

If Ed had told a story about something like that, Megumi could do it, too. She decided that it was her turn to recall an embarrassing moment. She opened her mouth to speak, but the doorbell rang once again. Megumi told Ed, Al, and Winry that it was Kiyomaro. Then, she got up and answered the door. She was surprised to see Sunbeam and Folgore with Kiyomaro but didn't mind.

Kiyomaro had a slight build and his hair was a little longer. He also looked more mature. Folgore and Sunbeam had noticeably aged but didn't look too different.

Once Kiyomaro, Sunbeam, and Folgore joined everyone else in the living room, Megumi said, "My concert that I messed up on… Do any of you remember that?"

Folgore and Sunbeam, not ever being to one of Megumi's concerts, were the most curious. Ed and Kiyomaro immediately remembered, as it was when Gash and Tio was still on Earth. However, it took Al and Winry some time to remember. As everyone tried to remember the event, Megumi blushed.

* * *

_It was the first concert that Kiyomaro, Gash, Tio, Ed, Al, and Winry had gone to together. They sat in the front row, as usual, awaiting Megumi's performance. Little did they know that Megumi was half-asleep from the short nap she had taken a short time before._

_Megumi appeared on the stage, smiling and waving as usual. And, as usual, everyone cheered. She expressed her thanks for everyone coming. As she began to sing and dance around the stage, she slipped and fell into a sitting-down position. The music stopped, and there was silence for a while. Megumi stayed in her sitting-down position, not believing what had happened. To the audience, it looked like she was dazed. Then, someone from the back called out, "Are you okay, Megumi-san?" Immediately following the question, people began to yell similar statements._

_Megumi smiled again. She stood up, looked at the band behind her and nodded. They started playing again, and Megumi began singing. She managed to get through all of her songs without any mishaps but, while she was waving goodbye on the edge of the stage, she slipped again. This time, she fell off and landed on her back. She sat upright and blushed. People in the back stood up and looked for her, as it had looked like she had disappeared to them._

_Kiyomaro went over to Megumi and gave her his hand. She took it, and Kiyomaro helped her up. Megumi thanked him and released herself from his hands. Blushing, she took the stairs back up to the stage, announced she was okay, and then quickly went backstage._

_Even though it was embarrassing for Megumi, Ed couldn't help but smile and almost laughed a couple times. He thought that the confused looks on Megumi's face were hilarious. After Megumi's falls, he looked at Gash, Tio, Al and Winry, who all had their mouths hanging open; they had never seen Megumi so clumsy._

_When Megumi, Tio, and Ed got home, Ed asked Megumi how she was doing._

"_I'm fine, Ed-kun," she replied, smiling to reassure him. "I was just a little tired, that's all." And she went in her room and tried to sleep the embarrassment off._

* * *

When the recollection was done, Megumi was redder than anyone had ever seen; but she was glad that she had pitched in the recalling of embarrassing moments and didn't want to do it again.

Kiyomaro was the next one to talk. "Megumi-san's seen me in some weird positions before."

At this, Megumi giggled, her blush disappearing. No one knew what Kiyomaro was talking about.

"Just listen," Kiyomaro said. He began to talk about various occasions.

* * *

"_Damn it." Kiyomaro stomped down the street. It was almost Saturday evening, and Gash still hadn't returned from the park. Kiyomaro's mother had sent him to find Gash. "Why can't Gash ever take care of himself?"_

_He saw Gash's tunic in the middle of the road. He stopped, picked it up, and examined it. There were tire marks all over it._

"_Gash shouldn't have been playing in the middle of the road," Kiyomaro said, now a little worried._

"_Kiyomaro-kun!"_

_Kiyomaro looked in the direction of the call. He saw Megumi running across the street to him._

"_Hi, Megumi-san," Kiyomaro greeted her. "I was just out looking for Gash and Umagon, and…" He held up the torn tunic._

"_What happened to Gash-kun?" Now Megumi was worried._

"_I just found this, so I don't know. But I have a pretty good idea."_

_As he spoke, he saw Naomi riding in the direction of the park, snickering._

"_It looks like he got run over by Naomi," Kiyomaro continued. "I already checked the park, so I'll have to continue further down."_

"_Is it okay if I look with you?"_

"_Uh…sure."_

_They walked further down the road in search of Gash. Both of them searched thoroughly, but neither could find any trace of Gash or Umagon. Finally, on the outskirts of town near the ocean, they saw Gash, lying on his back with his arms and legs spread out. He only had his boxer shorts on, and his body was covered with scratches. He seemed tired and out of breath, despite the chase being hours before Kiyomaro and Megumi had found him._

"_K-Kiyomaro… Megumi…dono…" Gash wheezed._

"_Gash, are you okay?" Kiyomaro asked._

"_Umagon... She chased us down here…and ran over Umagon… I don't know where he is…"_

"_Where did you see him last?"_

"_Back there…" Gash pointed behind them and then coughed._

"_We didn't see Umagon while we were coming here," Megumi said._

"_We'd better check again," Kiyomaro suggested. "Think you can make it, Gash?"_

_Gash jumped up, enthusiastic as ever. "Yup!"_

_They retraced Gash and Umagon's steps, looking closely at the road for any signs of Umagon. While they were walking past the river, Gash suddenly turned and ran towards it. Kiyomaro and Megumi went after him, noticing tire tracks burned in the ground, leading to the river._

_Gash held something invisible up in front of his eyes. Then, he turned and ran downstream, yelling, "Umagon!"_

"_Naomi must've chased Umagon down here," Kiyomaro said, skidding to a stop in front of the river. Megumi stopped beside him. "Umagon could've fallen into the river."_

_Megumi nodded gravely. "I'll search in the opposite direction."_

"_Okay. I'll go with Gash."_

_They split up. _

_Gash had run quite a distance, and Kiyomaro had a hard time catching up to him. Once Kiyomaro had caught up to him, he joined Gash in calling Umagon's name. When they were almost at the ocean, they saw Umagon drifting downstream on the other side of the river. Gash dove in, swam to the other side, and took Umagon, hanging the pony over his shoulders._

_Gash waved. "Hey, Kiyomaro, I got him! I got him, Kiyomaro!"_

"_Hurry up and come back over here so you can give him CPR!"_

_Gash came back over to where Kiyomaro was standing. He gently laid Umagon at Kiyomaro's feet and stood, staring at Umagon._

"_Do we wait for him to wake up now?" Gash asked._

"…_Give him CPR, Gash," Kiyomaro said._

"_What's CPR?"_

"_Breathe into Umagon's mouth until he wakes up."_

_Gash did as he was told. Within a few seconds, Umagon opened his eyes. Gash stood away from Umagon while the pony coughed. Once Umagon was done coughing, Umagon smiled and said, "Meru!"_

"_Umagon, you're back!" Gash exclaimed. Umagon merued happily in response. Then, Gash took off his boxer shorts. "I'm gonna go catch yellowtail, Kiyomaro."_

"_Wait, Gash," Kiyomaro started. "We need to go find…"_

_But it was too late. Gash had already jumped into the river._

"_Kiyomaro-kun!" Kiyomaro saw Megumi running towards them._

"…_Megumi-san?!"_

_She saw Umagon next to Kiyomaro. _"_Oh, you found Umagon!" Then, she saw Gash's boxer shorts next to him. "What happened to Gash-kun?"_

"_Oh, well…he…"_

_Megumi saw Gash jump out of the river, holding on to a yellowtail fish three times bigger than him._

* * *

"Another time, I was forced to…summon UFOs with one of my classmates," Kiyomaro continued. "Megumi-san didn't see me this time, but…"

* * *

_It was the end of a long day of school. Kiyomaro had stayed after to do homework in the library so he wouldn't be bothered by Gash and Umagon. He was ready to go home and relax. He put his books in his suitcase and stood up to leave, only to be met with Iwashima's enthusiastic face._

"_Hey, Kiyomaro, want to call UFOs with me?" he asked._

"_No, Iwashima," Kiyomaro began, walking past his classmate. "I'm busy…" Kiyomaro froze as he felt Iwashima grip his shoulder tightly._

"_Kiyomaro…" Iwashima sounded so serious and intimidating that it made Kiyomaro shudder._

"_O-Okay…"_

_Kiyomaro accompanied Iwashima to a hill that overlooked Mochinoki. They stood in the middle of the hill next to each other._

"_Follow my movements!" Iwashima instructed. He began to make awkward movements while chanting, "Ii-wa-ko-mo" repeatedly. Kiyomaro reluctantly copied him._

_In the middle of their ninth time of chanting, Kiyomaro saw Ed coming up the hill._

"_I-Iwashima," Kiyomaro said while keeping up with the movements, "I have to…"_

_Iwashima looked at Kiyomaro. His face was so threatening that Kiyomaro continued chanting._

_Out of the corner of his eye, Kiyomaro saw a hand. He looked beside him and saw Ed making the movements and chanting._

"_I saw you, you saw me…" Ed said. "…and I just couldn't leave you like this."_

_That made Kiyomaro feel good._

* * *

"That's all I can think of right now," Kiyomaro ended.

"Well, that was nice of you," Winry said, smiling at Ed.

"Well, you know." Ed grinned.

It was silent for a moment while everyone thought of another incident. Then, Ed came up with one, but it was so controversial that he kept it in his head.

* * *

_Ed and Al were beginning to go through puberty; they began to notice their voices getting deeper and them getting taller by a centimeter or two. Winry had also started these changes. Ed had first noticed when he went to her house to watch her make one of her first automail pieces. She seemed a little curvier. Then, Ed realized that she was going through similar changes when he, Al, and Winry went to Kiyomaro's house. In addition to Kiyomaro, Gash, and Umagon, Folgore and Kanchome were in Kiyomaro's room._

"_It's the remix of my song!" Folgore told them._

"_Wanna hear it?" Kanchome asked._

"_No," Kiyomaro said._

_Folgore put the CD in the CD player. The remix of his perverted song started playing. Folgore sang and danced with it, along with Kanchome and Gash, while Kiyomaro, Ed, Al, and Winry stared at them. Halfway through the song, Folgore offered Winry a dance with him._

"_Don't do it, Winry!" Ed said. "He's-"_

"—_charming!" Folgore interrupted. He laughed._

_Ed got up, grabbed Winry's free hand, and tried to pull Folgore away from Winry._

"_Don't do that!" Winry said, snatching her hand away from both Ed and Folgore. "Fight over me some other time."_

"_No…!" Ed shook his head rapidly. "It's not that! I'm trying to save you!"_

_Before Ed knew it, Folgore had his hands on Winry's breasts, gripping them tightly. Gash froze in place, watching Folgore and Winry._

"_Hey!" Ed yelled angrily. Before he could take action, Winry pushed Folgore so hard that he fell._

"_Folgore!" Kanchome ran over to the baffled Folgore and examined him, making sure he was okay. "That wasn't nice!"_

"_I'm going home," Winry said, leaving the room._

_Everyone stared at her._

* * *

Even though it had happened some years ago, Ed was still angry about Folgore trying to grope an adolescent's breasts.

"What's wrong, Ed-kun?" Megumi asked, seeing him zoned out.

"Nothing, nothing," Ed quickly replied. He knew Megumi was curious, but he couldn't tell her what had just run through his mind.

Since no one had anything to talk about, Megumi recalled the fly that had come in her house one day.

* * *

_It was raining. Tio, Ed, and Megumi were all inside, watching television. Tio heard buzzing coming from her left ear, the side where Ed was sitting._

"_Stop doing that," Tio said._

"_Doing what?" Ed said._

"_Buzzing! You're buzzing in my ear!"_

"_Stop trying to get me in trouble!"_

_Megumi heard the buzzing._

"_He's not doing it, Tio," she said. "I just heard it, too."_

_Tio heard it again, this time on her right side. She looked that way and saw a giant fly, which was slowly flying away. She clapped her hands on the fly, but it continued to fly around. Tio looked at her hands: both of them were red._

_Ed left to get the bug spray while Megumi went with him to get the flyswatter. Tio chased the fly around the room, trying to kill it with her hands. It was a slow fly, but no matter how many times she hit it, the fly wouldn't die._

_Ed and Megumi came back. Ed raced up to the fly and sprayed it with the bug spray. The fly was drenched when Ed was finished, but it could still fly. Then, Megumi hit it as hard as she could with the flyswatter. It hit the wall, but was still able to fly._

"_It won't die!" Tio exclaimed._

"_We still have something else." Megumi left the room._

"_Didn't we use everything?" Ed asked._

_Tio shrugged._

_Megumi returned with a jug of powerful spray and something that looked like a gun, except white and filled with spray, in both her hands. She put the jug down, held the jet up, aimed at the fly, and shot. The fly hit the wall while Megumi sprayed it. She sprayed it for a while, spray running down the wall. She stopped._

_Tio, Megumi, and Ed watched the fly slide down the wall and fall on the ground. It was now a white blob that couldn't move._

* * *

"It was only because Tio and I weakened it," Ed added. He paused. "Speaking of bugs, there was that one time when Megumi got attacked…"

Megumi blushed again and buried her head in her hands.

"…and it led to that whole thing," Ed finished.

* * *

_It was evening. Ed had forgotten to get the mail, so Megumi slid on her shoes and went outside. _

_She walked to the mailbox and then opened it. She noticed a small bees' nest inside. In order to save her breath and skin, she had to avoid touching the nest._

_Megumi slid her hand into the mailbox and gripped the stack of mail—mostly from fans of hers who had somehow gotten her address—and then slowly slid the mail towards the opening. Unfortunately, when all the mail was almost out, a tip of the mail stuck out, hitting the nest. Bees immediately flew out of the nest to sting Megumi. Megumi let go of the mail and sprinted off just as fast. Megumi yelped as some bees stung her._

_Sunbeam, who was walking down the street in the opposite direction of Megumi, saw Megumi and waved._

"_Sunbeam-san, turn around and run!" Megumi yelled. She jumped up and yelped again as another bee stung her._

_Sunbeam grew wide-eyed for a second when he saw the bees. He turned around and ran as fast as he could. His facial features would probably make the bees think he was a flower and make the bees attack him. The bees caught up to him and, once they found out that he wasn't a flower, they began to sting him. Sunbeam screamed "Ow!" and "Ouch!" as the bees stung him._

_All of the bees eventually died from stinging Megumi and Sunbeam too many times. Megumi and Sunbeam panted. Megumi's face, arms, and legs burned, while only Sunbeam's face burned._

_Ed and Kiyomaro, who were returning from a walk, saw Megumi and Sunbeam leaning on a fence. They looked like they were sweating and breathing heavily. Ed and Kiyomaro walked over to them._

_Ed covered his mouth to restrain his laughter at their red and swollen faces. "Are…you…?" He broke off into a laugh._

_Kiyomaro couldn't help but chuckle. "What happened? Stung by bees?"_

"_You guessed it," Sunbeam said._

_They all went their separate ways: Sunbeam went to his house to recover, saying that he had ointment there; Kiyomaro went home; and Megumi and Ed went back home._

_Tio wasn't in the house when Megumi and Ed got home. Instead, she was out looking for them along with Gash. The day gradually turned to night as Tio and Gash searched the town. After an unsuccessful run through the whole town, Tio and Gash sat in the park to take a break._

_Tio shivered. The night had become chillier._

_Even though there were streetlights, Tio was a little scared, even with Gash. Without the streetlights, it would be pitch-black._

"_C'mon, Tio," Gash said, standing up. "We have to go find Megumi-dono and Ed."_

_Tio stood up as well. "Yeah." _

_They went towards Megumi's house, but accidently passed it. They soon found themselves near the ocean._

"_How'd we get out here?" Gash asked._

"_I don't know, but let's go…" Tio looked around. They were now in the middle of a four-way crossroad. "Um…um...that way!" She closed her eyes and pointed in a random direction, hoping that would be the way back to town._

"_Tio, what are you waiting for?"_

_Tio opened her eyes. She was pointing to the north. Gash had already taken a few steps ahead of her._

_Tio caught up to Gash, and they continued in the wrong direction._

* * *

"_Where could she be?" Megumi said. She and Ed were sitting on the couch, awaiting Tio's arrival. The swelling had gone down considerably since the incident earlier, but there were still red spots left all over her body. "She's been gone for almost an hour…"_

_Ed could tell Megumi was getting worried. He stood up and put on his jacket, which was lying next to him. "I'll go get her if you want."_

_Megumi relaxed a little. "Thanks, Ed-kun. I'll stay here just in case Tio comes back."_

_Ed went out into the chilly night. He went towards the ocean because, it seemed, that the demons always ended up going that way._

* * *

_Tio and Gash were sitting in the grass, both of them shivering. They didn't know where to go or what to do. Megumi was probably home by then, and Tio wanted to go home but didn't know which way to go. She was quite scared; not only was it dark, but it was also cold._

"_T-Tio…"_

_Tio looked at Gash. Gash's teeth chattered for a moment before he continued: "We should keep moving."_

"_We'll get even more lost."_

_Gash nodded._

_After a few minutes of silence, they heard footsteps._

_Tio stood up and looked around. "W-What's that? Who's there?"_

"_Who's there?" Gash repeated, spotting a shadow not too far from them. He stood up as well._

_The shadow caught Tio's eye. She was about to run up to it and see what it was when it suddenly disappeared._

"_What on earth-" Tio was interrupted when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around, as did Gash, who had also been tapped, and saw something unrecognizable glowing. It roared. Gash stepped back while Tio jumped and then ran away._

"_Tio…!" Gash turned to get Tio, then paused and looked back at the creature. After a few seconds, he recognized the creature that he initially thought was a lion was actually Ed, who was now red from laughing._

_Ed stopped laughing when he heard a war cry. He looked at where the cry came from and saw Tio charging at him. He didn't have time to dodge this attack and, before he knew it, was laying on his back, looking at the night sky, his stomach hurting badly. He was about to coil in a ball and rub his stomach and then get Tio back but, before he had a chance to do so, he suddenly couldn't breathe._

"_Y-You devil…" he managed to get out, looking at the Medusa-like Tio, who was squeezing his neck._

"_Uh…Tio…" Gash said, poking Tio._

"_Shut up, Gash!" Tio screamed back._

"_Tio…" Gash poked Tio a second time._

_Tio continued to strangle Ed._

"_Tio…"_

_This didn't come from Gash. Tio looked up to see Megumi's red-spotted face, which looked like a monster to her. She immediately stopped strangling Ed and ran away._

"_Wait 'til I get my hands on her!" Ed, who had instantly recovered, was now up and charging towards Tio. Arms quickly wrapped around Ed's stomach. Ed was pushed back into something but continued to struggle. He escaped from its grasp, only to be caught again and pushed into it._

"_Ed-kun!"_

_Ed looked up at Megumi, who had been trying to restrict him the whole time. By this time, Tio had come back and noticed that it was Megumi as well._

"_Megumi…?" Tio began, taking a step back, wary._

"_I got stung by bees earlier when I was getting the mail," Megumi explained. "That's why I didn't come back. I was staying home while Ed was looking for you, but I got so worried that I came out to look, too." She looked at Gash, who was behind her. "I didn't know you brought Gash-kun with you, though."_

_As soon as she said that, Kiyomaro, who had been sent by his mother to look for Gash, came running up to them. He panted for a few seconds and then said, "How on earth did you end up all the way out here, Gash…? What a run…"_

"_Oh, Tio wanted me to look for Megumi," Gash replied._

_Kiyomaro sighed heavily. He pieced together that Tio and Gash had gotten lost and Ed and Megumi had to find them instead._

_Ed realized that, for the first time, he had escaped from one of Megumi's grasps._

* * *

"_Umagon, I'm home!" Sunbeam called, entering his small apartment._

_Umagon trotted up to Sunbeam, leapt in his arms, and began to lick him. The pony felt bumps on Sunbeam's face and pulled away to see red spots all over him. Umagon jumped out of Sunbeam's arms and backed up into a corner, knocking down and tripping over several things along the way._

"_What's wrong, Umagon?" Sunbeam asked, forgetting about the red spots on his face and walking towards Umagon._

_Umagon screamed._

* * *

"I wish I could've gotten that devil back…" Ed mumbled.

"That's right," Megumi remembered. "That was your last fight."

"I'll be here to see you off tomorrow, Ed, Al," Sunbeam said.

"I'll also give you a going-away gift!" Folgore said.

"One of your CDs?" Ed guessed.

"That's right!"

"I don't want it."

Folgore hung his head down.

"Al wants it."

Al gave Ed a look while Folgore held up his head again and beamed.

Al, Winry, Folgore, Sunbeam, and Kiyomaro left the house. Ed saw Winry's face as they left: Winry looked a little sad. Ed felt guilty.

"Are you okay, Ed-kun?" Megumi asked.

"Yeah, it's just that... Never mind."

Megumi didn't like how Ed kept everything bottled up inside and then exploded when things weren't going his way. She didn't touch the subject, however, knowing that it wasn't a good topic, especially since it was Ed's last day with her.

"Tomorrow…" Ed said.

"Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow," Megumi responded.

Megumi and Edward sat in silence, enjoying one of their last moments alone together.


	18. The Quarrel of Departure

**Chapter Eighteen: The Quarrel of Departure**

Megumi opened her eyes. She sat up and yawned, covering her mouth. Today was the day.

She looked at Volunlun on the dresser next to her. She wished Tio was here to see Ed off, as Tio and Ed never had a chance to say goodbye to each other.

She threw the covers off, stood up, and stretched. She went into the bathroom and began her morning routine.

* * *

Once Megumi finished getting dressed, she went downstairs, expecting to see Ed sitting on the couch. He wasn't. She wondered where he could be, as he and Al had finished packing two days ago and made sure that they had everything multiple times since. Were they checking their bags again?

Megumi looked in all the rooms of the house, but Ed wasn't in any of them. Then, it came to her. She opened the door and, sure enough, Ed was sitting on the porch, his bag next to him. He looked at Megumi and smiled. Megumi smiled and sat down next to him.

It was the last moment they would have alone together. Realizing this, both of them sat in silence for a while. Then, Ed broke the silence.

"Thanks, Megumi."

Megumi looked at Ed. He was looking straight ahead.

"If you hadn't caught me that night…I don't want to think of where I would be now."

Warmness spread throughout Megumi's body. She had never gotten a proper thank you from Ed for that night, but that was probably because he didn't understand the reason she caught him until later.

"You're welcome, Ed-kun. And I'm so glad I met you. These past four years with you have been great."

For a moment, Megumi thought she saw a look of regret on Ed's face, but it quickly returned to that softened, calm expression.

"And thanks for teaching me how to fight," Ed continued, looking at Megumi, "just in case Al and I need to defend ourselves."

After the Demon Battle ended, Megumi had begun teaching Al judo and aikido. Like Ed, he had learned fast and, like Ed, was now stronger than Megumi.

Ed thanked Megumi for everything she had done for him: catching him, Gash, Tio, Kanchome, and Umagon using alchemy for wrong; helping him through the sadness of not knowing what had happened to his parents; defending him from the gang; and saving him from the bear when they had gone camping.

"And thank you for taking me to New York," Megumi said. "I enjoyed that trip so much." Megumi pulled Ed into herself and hugged him tightly.

After a long embrace, Megumi released Ed from her grip, and they stared into each other's eyes, smiling. Ed's eyes suddenly got big, and Megumi saw that he had realized something.

"The alchemy shop!" he said. "What'll happen to it?"

"Don't worry. I'm sure Sunbeam-san and Folgore-san will take care of it until they find someone else willing to work there."

Ed noticeably calmed down. He and Megumi sat in silence for the rest of the morning.

* * *

Ed and Al checked their bags in the foyer of Megumi's home. They had already done so several times over the past two days, but they did so one more time just to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything.

Once they finished, Al said, "I'm pretty sure we have everything."

"Yeah," Ed replied. He zipped up his bag and sat on the bottom step of the stairs. "Y'know, this almost feels like a dream. I mean, I can't believe we're leaving."

"I know what you mean. We've been here so long that it feels wrong to just up and leave like this."

"I'm worried for Megumi and Winry. Megumi's leaving for college tomorrow, and I'm hoping that she doesn't think about us too much while she's there. Winry won't be as worried, but still…" Ed got up and looked out the window at the last evening he would see in Mochinoki for a while.

"Does it seem like you suddenly appreciate everything more?" Al said. "All of a sudden, I'm glad for all the friends I made here and all of our experiences."

Ed nodded. He knew he'd miss everybody. "I guess it's true, what people say about not appreciating what you have until what you have is gone." He looked at his watch. "Well, it's time. Everyone's waiting for us near the beach."

Ed and Al picked up their bags and headed towards the beach.

* * *

Megumi sat on a ledge between Kiyomaro and Winry. Folgore and Sunbeam were standing up, Folgore excitedly waiting for Al to come so he could give him his CD while Sunbeam paced back and forth in front of Megumi, Kiyomaro, and Winry.

Megumi was looking down the road when two figures came into view. Kiyomaro, Winry, Folgore, and Sunbeam also noticed and stared at the two approaching figures. When they were close enough, Megumi recognized them as Ed and Al. She hopped down for the ledge, as did Winry and Kiyomaro. They, along with Folgore and Sunbeam, began walking down the road to meet them. The two groups met each other halfway. Then, the farewells began.

"Good luck, you two," Sunbeam said, smiling. "Be careful."

"Don't worry, we'll be fine," Ed said.

"Thank you, Sunbeam-san," Al said.

Ed almost laughed when Folgore thrust his CD into Al's hands and Al's expression became wide-eyed for a moment.

"Enjoy it," Folgore said. He seemed more serious than usual.

"I-I will," Al replied. "Th-Thank you."

"Both of you," Folgore continued, "have fun out there, and good luck finding that alchemy-whatever."

Ed and Al nodded.

Kiyomaro walked up to them. He crossed his arms, saying, "Well, I guess this is it. Be smart, and don't get involved into anything unnecessary. See you during the next break." He turned around and went back in line.

Ed knew what Kiyomaro meant: don't do anything stupid like they—mostly Ed—used to. He was glad that Kiyomaro was confident that he and Al were going to come back.

Winry came up to the two boys. She stared at Al first, then at Ed for a few moments, looking like she was on the verge of tears. Then, she said, "Don't get into any trouble!" She hugged Al for some seconds and then hugged Ed, stopping when he coughed. She ran back to the others, covering her face with her hands.

It was finally Megumi's turn. She walked up to them, both boys looking at her expectantly. Ed took a moment to look at how she had physically changed: Megumi looked more mature than she used to and now wore gold earrings but, other than that, she hadn't changed much. However, Ed did think that she was more beautiful.

Megumi's eyes filled with tears. She blinked, sending a river flowing down her cheeks. She hugged Al first. Ed heard her whispering, "Take care, Al-kun. Keep Ed-kun out of trouble, okay?"

Ed's eyes narrowed. Al was the one who would need taking care of.

After hugging Al for what seemed a few minutes, Megumi stepped in front of Ed, tears still rolling down her cheeks. Ed gulped; if Megumi had hugged Al for that long, he was afraid of what she would do to him.

Megumi hugged Ed for what seemed an eternity, all the while telling him, "Be careful, Ed-kun. Please, be careful…"

"Don't worry, Megumi," Ed said when he had a chance. "I promise we'll come back during your breaks. And once we learn all we can about alchemy, we'll come back here to stay. Nothing's going to happen, I promise."

Megumi released herself from Edward. She was smiling. It was the last time Ed would see Megumi smiling for a while and, suddenly, he felt something he couldn't quite describe. He felt warm inside and relaxed, not wanting to leave.

Megumi went back with the others. Ed took a last look at Megumi, Winry, Kiyomaro, Folgore, and Sunbeam. He was glad to have met them all. Ed found himself stepping forward, saying, "Sorry you all had to put up with me and my stupid stuff for so long. I was really immature back then...back when I first came here. So, yeah, I'm sorry." He stepped back next to Al and looked at his feet, glad that he had gotten that off his chest.

Everyone knew what Ed was talking about: all the mischief and misadventures he had gotten himself and others into during the first couple of months he had been in Mochinoki. No one said anything to prolong the conversation, as everyone thought that it was hard for Ed to say that. However, they didn't know that, somehow, Ed had said that almost easily.

Something tapped Ed's shoulder from behind. Ed looked behind him and saw an older Tio, Gash, Kanchome, and Umagon lined up next to each other. They all looked almost the same as they had when they were on Earth with the same clothes and everything, except more mature-looking and taller. Umagon was beginning to look like a full-grown horse, save for his tail; Gash and Tio's hair had gotten longer; Gash still had a playful look in his eyes; Tio's eyes were filled with determination and a desire to protect everyone, the look Ed had almost always seen; Kanchome looked the same, but Ed saw that he looked a lot more confident, like he was ready to take on anything.

Tio winked; Gash smiled, his eyes twinkling; Kanchome crossed his arms and smiled, looking more confident than he had before when he first appeared; Umagon grinned, showing his buck teeth. They were gone as quickly as they had appeared.

"Ed-kun, are you okay?" Megumi asked.

"Uh, yeah, yeah," Ed said, trying to regain his composure. He noticed that everyone was staring at him. Then, he thought, _Thanks, guys. Thanks for seeing us off. I'm glad you could make it. _Once he finished thanking Tio and the rest of the demons, he picked up his bag and said, "It's time for us to go. Al?"

"Right." Al picked up his bag and followed Ed towards the next town. He turned around and, while Ed was waving as he walked, said, "Bye, everyone!" There was a resounding "Bye" from the bigger group. He kept going even when Ed stopped and turned around, giving everyone one last look, looking at Megumi for an especially long time. By this time, Megumi had stopped crying and was looking at Ed with confidence. Everyone but her and Ed was leaving.

Ed felt himself relax. He and Megumi looked into each other's eyes a while longer: Edward, with his golden eyes of seriousness and confidence; Megumi, with her brown eyes of happiness and determination.

They turned around and parted ways.

-END-

* * *

**Author's Note:** Whew, I finished. Thanks to all my readers. No matter how much or how little you read, thanks a lot. I appreciate it, especially with this being my first fic. I hope some of you will look at my other/upcoming fics.

To those who have alerted this fic, please remember to take it off your alerts. I won't be adding another chapter to this.

-Zesh


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